


eyes locked, hands locked

by orphan_account



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Baking, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Modern Royalty, Not Beta Read, Pet Names, Road Trips, Sharing Clothes, Sickfic, but taejun are cute so they deserve it, minor ships will appear, overuse of pet names tbh, skater boys!, this is really just a bunch of cliches, tiniest bit of conflict
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:22:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 36,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25578778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: seven taejun one-shots based on cute, indulgent prompts.
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Choi Soobin, Choi Beomgyu/Huening Kai, Choi Soobin/Huening Kai, Choi Yeonjun/Kang Taehyun
Comments: 22
Kudos: 123





	1. day one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, you know how everyone has been joking that this has been *taejun week* because of all the content us taejunists have been getting? well, this was not planned, but i guess this is actually taejun week for me (or i guess two weeks of taejun?) because i'm planning on posting seven oneshots over these next two weeks. if i manage to stick to a schedule, a one-shot will be going up just about every other day. i hope you enjoy and stick around for what's coming! <3
> 
> today's oneshot was inspired by the prompts: road trip, getting lost together, and fireworks.

to his own dismay, yeonjun finds his road trip being brutally thrown off course— evident by the fact that he's kneeling down a slate of asphalt, palms firmly placed on his knees as he leans forward to stare blankly at the tire of his own car. a couple feet away from the black-haired boy stands taehyun, who is engaged on a phone call with the service company. the redhead is visibly chewing at his lip as he repeats his explanation that no, their engine was not starting, and yes, they’d like help as soon as possible.

if there's something to be grateful for, taehyun manages to find it while on that phone call, because the younger boy promptly thanks every force of nature out there for not stranding two of them on the side of a highway; that would have been a disaster. their reality isn't much better though, with their car deciding to just not start up after they meant to depart a convenience store that they had quickly stopped at to buy some snacks, hoping to tide themselves over for the last couple of hours left in their drive. when taehyun goes to load their bags of food into the backseat, yeonjun is hopping back into the driver’s seat, swiftly putting his keys in the ignition and attempting to start the car. the engine never hums to life though. instead, on each one of yeonjun’s attempts, the car seems to just light up with a fighting spirit for a brief moment before it goes silent once again.

“fuck,” yeonjun groans, turning to the shorter boy. “hyun, it’s not starting.”

taehyun, from where he’s standing outside of the car, raises an eyebrow. “it’s not?”

“no, and— fuck— i don’t know what’s wrong, the gas is filled and everything, and i just got it checked out like a month ago,” yeonjun rants, running a hand through his slightly grown out hair as he immediately runs through the thousands of things that could be wrong with his car. “god dammit, why won’t it—”

“easy now,” taehyun chides, coming over to stand by the passenger’s door. “it’s okay. we’ll just call someone, and they can figure it out.”

“we’re going to be late—” yeonjun groans, recalling kai’s pointed lecture that none of them better be late _or else_. it now seemed nothing but painfully ironic to the older boy.

“it’s okay,” taehyun repeats, reaching through the window to take yeonjun’s hand. “come on, get out of the car. we’ll wait here,” he prompts. yeonjun, sighing, gently pushes at his driver’s side door with the heel of his boot. he wordlessly follows taehyun towards the trunk of the car, which taehyun instantly climbs on top of. as the younger boy settles himself up there, he scrolls through his phone's contact list and dials up triple a, the company yeonjun’s dad was under. after staring at the tires for a few moments, yeonjun pushes himself up into a squatting position, the soles of his boots digging into the tiny rocky littering the lot that they’re parked in. he looks up at taehyun’s hunched figure, who is sitting on top of the silver honda with his lips pursed as he speaks softly to the customer service agent on the other end of the line.

“no, no. it’s fine. thank you so much... yes, we’ll be waiting... ah, you too. take care, bye,” the short redhead speaks in clipped phrases as he finishes the call, hanging up his phone with a sigh.

“okay, so they’re kind of backed up right now— you know, first weekend of summer and everything. apparently someone should be here within the next half of an hour, so we have to just wait until then,” taehyun relays the information to his frowning boyfriend. “oh, don’t be like that jun, it’s really not that bad. hyuka and them will understand. hopefully they’ll be able to figure out what’s wrong with the car really quickly and then we can be on our way. i’ll call kai after we get help.”

yeonjun merely nods in agreement, climbing up to sit on the trunk beside his boyfriend as he grumbles about leaving his toolbox back at home, for it would certainly come in handy for this unexpected dilemma of theirs. it ends up being a twenty minute wait, time which the two of them spend scrolling through their phones. yeonjun eventually hops on a game of 2048 and taehyun watches from behind, delicately resting his chin on yeonjun’s shoulder. yeonjun gives taehyun’s hair a quick ruffling before placing his free hand back on his phone screen, swiping away at the little blocks as they pop up. when taehyun steals his phone, wanting to play himself, yeonjun gasps in mock offense to which the younger boy merely sticks out his tongue.

(“do not beat my high score, oh my god,” yeonjun warns his boyfriend.

“no promises,” taehyun sing-songs, immediately delving into a game of his own. yeonjun talks animatedly for the entire duration of the round as a means of distraction, trying to get the younger boy to mess up, but taehyun’s resolve holds strong.

taehyun’s score is a mere five hundred points below yeonjun’s highest when the game finishes. yeonjun snatches the phone back, but taehyun pouts and makes grabby hands at the device.

“no,” yeonjun asserts, but the redhead just makes his eyes go wider, and yeonjun is caving before he can even think. “stop that, you know i’m weak for that. you look like a kitten..." the older boy pauses, thinking his options over. "gosh, fine— here, just take it. one more round and that’s it. i can not risk my dignity.”

“thanks, jun~” taehyun exclaims, tone teasing. there’s a wide grin on the younger boy's face as he is handed his boyfriend's phone once again. when taehyun still fails to match yeonjun’s high score, he regretfully gives the phone back to its rightful owner. yeonjun, ever one to be dramatic, glances up to the sky and mouths a “thank you” for his victory.)

eventually, two extremely nice ladies from the service company approach them with a kit of tools. initially, the plan is to use jumper cables to attempt to get their battery up and running once again. however, whatever is wrong with the car clearly runs a bit deeper, because it refuses to start despite their best efforts. the silver honda merely sputters a few times before immediately dying back down.

“i think we have to take this into the shop,” the taller of the two women informs them after shuffling through her entire toolbox, searching for anything that would be of use to them. yeonjun lets his head fall onto the back of taehyun’s neck from where he’s standing behind his boyfriend, an action full of exasperation— not at anyone in particular, just in light of the unfortunate situation as a whole— for all of their efforts to get the car fixed quickly and be on time had been in vain. the two women evidently appear sympathetic to yeonjun and taehyun's slight feelings of distress. “i’m sorry kids, but our mechanics will have to work on this. we can tow your car, though, and you can ride in ours with us. the shop is only a six minute drive away.”

at that, taehyun sticks out his hand for yeonjun to hold, which the older boy easily complies with (yeonjun thinks he sees the women smile at one another once the two of them link their hands from his peripheral vision, but he’s not entirely sure). taehyun and yeonjun settle into the backseat of the service company’s pickup truck as the two employees work together to hook up their tiny silver car so it can pulled behind them. on the drive over to the mechanic, the employees inquire about the lives of the two college students now sitting inside of their truck. taehyun does most of the talking, explaining how they were on their way to a lake house for the weekend to celebrate the end of their school year. upon further questioning, yeonjun learns that the shorter of the two women was a performing arts major just like him, so they begin to delve into a conversation about some of their favorite musicals (yeonjun’s a big fan of wicked— he’s seen it twice on broadway— while the woman named sarah was particularly fond of hamilton). they’re at the repair shop before they know it, and upon clambering out of the pickup truck, taehyun approaches the counter and retrieves the necessary information from the workers that they need, including a few documents that he pawns off for yeonjun to fill out. yeonjun makes a call to his parents, whose car insurance he is thankfully still under. taehyun and yeonjun are able to quickly sort and hand in all of the required forms, but based on the crowd of people in the waiting room, neither of them have much hope. their fears are confirmed when the man at the front desk informs them that it would be at least an hour, probably leaning towards two, until their car could even be seen. the employee reassures the couple that the mechanics will call them when they’re needed, so yeonjun and taehyun briefly thank the workers before departing the tiny shop. yeonjun huffs out a sigh once the glass door shuts behind them, pulling up beomgyu’s contact and immediately putting his phone on speaker.

“yeonjun? hyun? are you guys almost here?” beomgyu answers after a few rings, tone giddy. in the background, huening kai shouts a hello of his own.

“sorry gyu, but we’re definitely going to be late. our car is in the shop and won’t be checked for another few hours,” yeonjun informs the younger boy.

“wait, give me a second, i can't really hear you over all the rustling," beomgyu starts to say, and yeonjun hears some brief shuffling from the other end. after a few seconds, the younger boy uncovers the receiver. "hi, sorry, i'm back. you said that you're going to be late?"

yeonjun quickly re-explains what happened on their end, earning a gasp from beomgyu. "oh god, don’t worry about it guys! kai and i just got here, so you're not missing much. soobin should be here within the next hour, so when he arrives, we can get some of the basic things sorted out without you two. kai is just unpacking all of the food right now.”

“tell him i said hi,” taehyun interjects from where he’s standing at yeonjun’s side, instinctively snaking his arm around the oldest’s. yeonjun easily pulls his boyfriend into his side with his free hand, pressing a kiss to taehyun's forehead.

“kai, love, taehyun says hi! come over here,” gyu exclaims, muffling the speaker as he yells for his boyfriend. “okay, but is your car okay? do you think you can get here tonight or are you guys going to just get a hotel room?”

yeonjun turns to taehyun, who merely shrugs. “you’re the one driving,” he mouths. “it’s your decision, jun.”

“we’ll be there by midnight,” yeonjun answers. “we don’t know what’s wrong, but as long as the car's running in a few hours, we’ll get there. we’re maybe an hour and a half away, if there is no traffic that is, but i think we can manage.”

“i’m here,” kai proclaims, suddenly sounding a lot closer to the phone than he did when beomgyu first picked up. “what’s up?” the youngest asks, to which beomgyu quickly fills his boyfriend in on the situation.

“that sucks,” kai says, and both yeonjun and taehyun can hear his pout through his voice.

“kai, bub? we’ll be there soon, i promise,” yeonjun says, to which taehyun firmly nods, even if the other party can’t see him.

“okay, stay safe you guys. no rush, but also, please hurry. i can’t take being alone with gyu for much long— hey! stop hitting me!” kai giggles from the other end of the line.

“you know you love me,” beomgyu teases. yeonjun wouldn’t be surprised if the blonde was pinching the cheeks of his younger boyfriend. “okay, we’ll send our love to soobin for you two when he gets here! drive safe, and have fun— really, because you'll probably be stuck with the worst bedroom up here. we’ll see you soon.”

“bye guys!” kai exclaims, and yeonjun and taehyun both say their goodbyes last before the line clicks dead. yeonjun pockets his phone, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, before turning to his boyfriend, a new smile on his face.

“okay, so what can we do around this town?” yeonjun smiles, looping his arm tighter through taehyun's. the older boy tries to embrace the situation; if he couldn't be at the lake, yeonjun was certainly glad to find himself in a charming little town with his boyfriend and a few hours open for them to spend however they pleased. taehyun looks pleased at the spark of enthusiasm.

“well, the guy at the counter said that main street is right over there,” taehyun says, pointing across the intersection to a street where there’s a plethora of tiny storefronts. “you hungry?”

yeonjun, never one to deny the opportunity at getting food, checks the time and nods. “yeah, it’s already seven-thirty and we haven’t gotten dinner yet. might as well,” he shrugs.

“okay. what do you want?” taehyun asks, maintaining his iron grip on yeonjun's hand as he all but pulls the older boy across the street, dropping it once they've reached the sidewalk.

“you're letting me decide? who are you?” yeonjun teases. the older boy almost begins to pout, but begrudgingly accepts the loss of contact as taehyun pulls out his phone.

taehyun matches yeonjun's grin. “you’re the one driving, it’s the least i could do.”

“okay," the older boy softens at taehyun's considerate gesture. "let’s go see if there’s ramen around here,” yeonjun says, voice fond as he watches taehyun muss with his hair with the help of his phone camera, which he uses as a mirror. “you look good, hyun. don’t worry so much,” yeonjun admonishes, but taehyun merely sulks in a childlike manner as he fails to flatten out one particular unruly piece of his red hair. the younger boy had just dyed his hair, and while he wasn’t necessarily self conscious of it— in fact, taehyun loved the vibrant color of his hair— it just took some getting used to. outside of calling taehyun a strawberry head a few times (with love, of course), yeonjun always made sure to praise his boyfriend’s new look.

the two of them eventually come across a tiny ramen joint a few blocks away via google maps. they place their to-go orders at the front counter before moving to stand in a short line that has formed amongst the other patrons, all waiting for their food. a few people stare at their conjoined hands for far longer than necessary, but neither yeonjun nor taehyun are too phased after a year and a half of dating. one of the girls at the register inquires about their journey— apparently this town was so tiny that practically every other customer was a regular, so when she didn’t recognize the two boys, she decided to strike up a conversation— and informs them that there’s a beach just a little further down the street if they need a nice place to relax. yeonjun and taehyun thank her warmly, and upon getting their food, decide to follow her suggestion. they take the ten minute walk down to the local beach, strolling through the village's winding residential roads until they spot their intended destination. there's actually a park that borders said beach, so the couple decides to settle down on a bench overlooking the waterfront while they begin to eat their dinner. it’s nearing eight fifteen at that point, so the sun is a good ways to setting, but there are a few street lights placed throughout the lawn, including one right above their bench, that help the two boys see what they’re doing as they shuffle through the bag of food. taehyun lays out napkins and breaks the single-use silverware out of its packaging, handing yeonjun a pair of chopsticks in exchange for his own food. they eat in relative silence for a while, but yeonjun finishes his meal first, and spends the rest of the time taking photos of taehyun while he’s finishing his meal. the younger boy narrows his eyes at the camera as he sips at the broth, so in the photo yeonjun takes, all that’s visible is taehyun's grumpy eyes and cherry-colored hair behind the cup of ramen he’s eating from. it immediately becomes yeonjun’s new lockscreen.

“i hate you,” taehyun whines when he finally puts down his food.

“you really don’t,” yeonjun snickers, showing him the photo. taehyun just whines again, louder this time, but yeonjun stretches out to distract the redhead. the older boy lays his head right in taehyun’s lap, to which the younger boy rolls his eyes fondly, but begins to stroke his boyfriend's hair instinctively.

“you’re such a baby,” taehyun states, carding his fingers through yeonjun’s jet black locks. “but you’re my baby, so, i guess it’s okay.”

“you know it—” yeonjun winks in response. “i’m sorry though about the car. i wish we would have just taken yours,” he mentions solemnly.

“it’s okay, jun, you couldn’t have known that this would happen. your car is newer and has the better stereo system anyway, we were bound to take it. plus, this hasn't turned out too bad. i mean, this park is nice.”

“and?” yeonjun prompts, a wide grin on his face. taehyun huffs, fake exasperation written all over his features.

“and i get to have more alone time with you, my lovely boyfriend," taehyun gives in, jokingly tapping yeonjun on the nose. "gosh, do not let all of this praise go to your head.”

“i think it already has, hyun.”

“unfortunately i have to agree,” the redhead sighs. “you want to go down to the water?”

“and get sand in my boots? i’d rather die,” yeonjun groans, tone completely serious. taehyun scoffs despite the evident mirth shining in his eyes.

“then take them off, you doofus,” taehyun teases, gently guiding yeonjun into a sitting position before standing up himself. the younger boy holds out both of his hands, ready to pull yeonjun up. “come on. at least come stand nearby.”

“fine, fine, i’ll risk my shoes for you,” yeonjun yields, letting his boyfriend help him rise to his feet.

“oh, what a true romantic you are, choi.”

“i’m such a keeper, i know,” yeonjun snarks back, but the soft smile gracing its way across the older boy's lips contrasts the sharp tone of his voice. “let’s go. i’ll race you to the water once we take these things off,” yeonjun finishes, lifting up the heel of one of his boots.

upon the conclusion of the race, taehyun declares himself the victor after yeonjun had purposefully ran straight into him, an action that the older boy thought would merely slow the redhead down. however, due to the bumpy nature of the sand, taehyun had fallen straight down. yeonjun immediately looks remorseful upon seeing taehyun fail and sink to the ground, but the giggling younger boy had soon managed to pull his boyfriend down as well with a swift tug to yeonjun's wrist. yeonjun falls right on top of taehyun, who just chuckles even louder at this. in this position, the older boy can feel taehyun's laughter vibrate through his entire body due to the close proximity of their chests. the two of them soon turn towards one another, locking eyes.

“hi,” the redhead mumbles, lips curving into a big smile.

“pretty,” is all yeonjun says as a response at first. the black-haired boy soon begins to look slightly sheepish as he apologizes to his boyfriend. “sorry for knocking you down, hyun. i didn’t think you’d actually fall.”

“it’s okay, but i did get hurt, so i think you know what that means.”

“wait, where?” yeonjun’s eyes subtly widen as they dart around the face of the younger boy, who merely grins wider.

“on my lips.”

it then dawns on yeonjun what exactly taehyun is looking for. “you fell on your back, taehyun,” he deadpans.

“you make this so difficult,” the shorter boy sighs. “kiss me?”

“well why didn’t you just ask sooner?” the black-haired boy teases, but instantly closes the gap between them, pressing their lips together. yeonjun is holding himself up by his palms, which are planted in the sand, as kisses taehyun on the floor of this remote beach. it’s both bizarre and painstakingly cheesy but so perfect at the same time. taehyun’s shiny, pink lips are incredibly soft against yeonjun’s own slightly chapped ones, and the younger boy surges forward to deepen the kiss. yeonjun begins to graze his teeth gently against taehyun’s bottom lip, but a resounding boom in the distance startles the two boys, forcing them apart.

“what the—” yeonjun asks, casting a glance over his shoulder and spotting something shooting up in the sky.

“fireworks,” taehyun breathes out from where he’s laying, quickly moving to sit up and watch them. “whoa.”

the first of the fireworks explodes in the air, sending a smattering of orange-colored light shooting in every direction until the gunpowder fizzles out, falling to the surface of the ocean. there’s another crash, and the couple watches someone on a tiny island in the middle of the water spark the fuse that propels the next firework into the air. yeonjun feels taehyun clutching at his arm again; the younger boy wasn’t very fond of loud noises, but he didn’t seem too fearful of these fireworks since he could see where they were coming from and knew when to anticipate them. the older boy lets the redhead lean into his chest, and the two of them sit there for what must be twenty or thirty minutes just watching the show before them, a time in which it darkens considerably. the rest of the world seems to pale around the two boyfriends, who are sitting on the sand of this dimly lit beach with fireworks igniting in the air around them, exploding in a galaxy of multicolored sparkles.

“i don’t think i’ve ever been this close to them before,” yeonjun says, awe written in his eyes as he stares across the water, anticipating the next firework.

“me either,” taehyun agrees. “i hate to say it, but i’m kind of glad your car broke down. these are pretty,” the redhead says, snapping a few photos with his phone. “maybe i’ll paint these later.”

“you should. show it to me when you’re finished?”

“of course,” taehyun smiles easily. “you brought me here, so you deserve it.”

“doesn’t that mean that i am your muse?” yeonjun questions with a large smile, wrapping his arm around taehyun’s smaller frame to pull the boy closer.

“you always have been,” taehyun answers good-naturedly, starry eyes reflecting the last of the fireworks that are being set off. it goes dark soon after that, but neither of them are in any rush to get back to the mechanic, so they sit under the pitch black sky for a couple more minutes. by that point, the moon is the only source illuminating the sky, and it shines down on the small ocean waves, which are still quietly crashing against the shore. it’s almost heavenly, how peaceful the beach is in those moments, but when taehyun turns to connect their lips for a second time, yeonjun swears the fireworks start going off once again. it’s nowhere near their first kiss, but the passion still lights something in yeonjun on fire. yeonjun likens the pounding of his heart to the rush of energy that occurs when a firework is shot into the sky, and the soft giggle taehyun lets out might as well share the intensity of the sound of a firework exploding, because yeonjun’s sensations are numb to everything except the pretty redhead kissing light back into his world. taehyun breathes color back into yeonjun’s life, which never comes close to being dull with the younger boy around.


	2. day two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> today's prompts: skater boys! and patching each other up.

“kang!” someone yells from across the park, an action which has taehyun’s head shooting up immediately. he’s one of a handful of koreans in the neighborhood, so it was pretty safe to say that no one else shared his last name besides his parents and older sister, but clearly, none of them were very keen on tagging along with him to the skate park. taehyun spots beomgyu perk up out of the corner of his eye, and the older boy quickly jogs over.

“taehyun, yeonjun’s here—” the silver-haired boy sing songs as he breezes by his slightly shorter friend.

beomgyu's teasing makes taehyun instantly glance towards the park entrance, where yeonjun and soobin are walking in. the two taller boys had freshly completed their sophomore year at the college that the four of them attended— beomgyu and taehyun still unfortunately belonged to the freshman class at this point in the year, but with a few more final exams, they would be free too— and were also fellow frequenters of this skate park. it’s kind of a hassle to get to, being a forty minute walk from campus, but most of them were willing to make the trek up with their boards because it was way safer than practicing tricks in the gravel lot across the street from their school, which was terribly uneven and bumpy.

yeonjun lets his board fall to the ground, while soobin goes off to greet a group of his friends that coincidentally includes beomgyu, who had skipped away from his younger brunette friend. yeonjun suddenly looks up, about to step onto his board, and locks eyes with taehyun from across the park.

as an exercise slash sports sciences major, taehyun has taken plenty biology classes in his time at college. so he knows that it shouldn’t be (and isn't) physically possible to feel his heart pounding in his throat whenever yeonjun so much as glances at him, but somehow, taehyun can every single time (the short brunette can also vividly hear beomgyu’s voice echoing through his mind. “love has no exact scientific explanation, taehyun, but you definitely like him,” his friend would say in a teasing voice, laughing hysterically as taehyun grabbed the closest pillow on his couch to threaten to hit beomgyu with).

“hey, hyun, how’s it going?” the older boy skates over, stopping right before the brunette, whose skateboard has somehow rolled away a couple of feet after he stopped paying attention to it.

“hi yeonjun,” taehyun greets, suddenly extremely grateful for the fact that his tan, honey-colored skin could potentially mask some of the heat rushing to his face. “i’m...we’re getting through it. gyu and i are just taking a break from studying.”

“aw, i forget freshmen finish testing last,” yeonjun winces. “good luck though, i’m sure you’ll do great.”

“thanks, i hope so, at least. how’d you end up doing in psychology?” taehyun asks, trying to bridge the conversation. psychology was the one course that him and yeonjun shared that year; it was how the two of them met, during one lecture towards the earlier portion of that fall quarter. in classic college fashion, the two of them just ended up sitting next to one another for one class by random chance, and yeonjun needed a pen halfway through the ninety minute period when the only one he had left (only two weeks into the school year, that is) happened to run out of ink. taehyun graciously gifted the older boy one of his beloved muji pens (a fact that beomgyu will never let go, considering how god damn expensive and luxurious those pens are to broke university students like them). from there, yeonjun and taehyun ended up as seat partners more and more frequently until they eventually exchanged numbers. like most of the friendships that taehyun has made at university, their texts start off full of complaints about assignments and the sharing of study notes and homework answers, but eventually, the two of them begin to regularly hang out in between their scheduled classes. both of them followed a block schedule of sorts, where they would have two classes in the morning and two in the early afternoon, so the library, coffee house, and dining halls became commonly frequented places for them to hang out at during that chunk of free time they both had mid-day. it’s in these daily meetings that taehyun’s crush blossoms, and how could it not? yeonjun was actually a dance major, with psychology just being a course he had to take to fulfill a graduation requirement, but the older boy also dabbled in singing, as well as songwriting and some composition. yeonjun, usually ever composed, would light up with almost childlike glee whenever he talked about his current projects. it was clear that he really enjoyed the path that he was pursuing. taehyun found yeonjun’s passion to be quite charming, even just from their first few conversations, but the younger boy eventually grew to find everything about yeonjun to be incredibly attractive. in particular, taehyun discovers from his own roommate and best friend, beomgyu, that yeonjun and him were both regular visitors of this very skate park.

taehyun was very opposed to the prospect of him tagging along with beomgyu at first, despite the slightly older boy’s insistence that he should.

“i am going to make a fool out of myself, gyu, if i go with you,” taehyun had whined, flopping down on his bed and shoving his head into his pillow, further messing up his head of already tousled brown locks. “i don’t even know how to skate! this is a terrible idea.”

“no, it’s a great idea. listen to me, hyun,” beomgyu grins, shuffling through their shared closet for his windbreaker of choice. when he finds the red and white jacket in question, he quickly shrugs it on before turning back to the center of their room, where taehyun is lying in his bed. “yeonjun’s kind of a fool. like, i know you think he’s great and everything, but he’s also a complete mess and not to mention, a giant skateboarding nerd. so just come along, hang with me, and i’ll teach you some stuff. you’ll eventually impress him and then boom!” the silver-haired boy claps his hands together for emphasis. “then we win.”

“this isn’t a competition,” taehyun purses his lips.

“no, but it will be once i teach you how to do some tricks and then make you replicate them. i mean, you’ll have no chance against a pro like me,” beomgyu jokes, nudging taehyun’s chest. “but it’ll be fun! come on, we’ve been living together for six months, you might as well come see what it’s all about.”

“there are so, so, so many ways this can go wrong,” taehyun groans. “what if i fall?”

“taehyun, you’re way better at sports than me, and we both know that. and if you fall…” beomgyu trails off, singing the last portion of his words.

“then i’ll catch you,” taehyun finishes the lyric instinctively, a small smile spreading across his face. “fine. you’ve convinced me. let me get dressed and then we can go.”

to taehyun’s surprise, it doesn’t go as poorly as he would have expected. he borrows a skateboard from one of beomgyu’s older brothers, and taehyun picks up how to move forward and steer himself relatively quickly, so beomgyu then moves on to trying to teach taehyun some tricks. the silver-haired boy settles on getting taehyun to master simple moves like the biebelheimer and an ollie that day. as taehyun is practicing, with his tongue placed between his teeth and his hair slightly damp from the sweat pooling on his forehead, yeonjun apparently walks in with some of his friends, but taehyun is too focused to notice.

(“hyun, he was looking over at you the entire time! he didn’t even leave to practice on any of the bigger ramps, no, he stayed on this side of the park so he could be near you,” beomgyu gushes, walking down the sidewalk with his skateboard in hand. the slightly older boy makes sure to keep an eye on taehyun, who was riding his board right next to the curb upon beomgyu’s request that he continues to get in more practice. taehyun found that he really didn’t mind it though; he actually ends up discovering on that day that he really enjoys skateboarding and the rush of adrenaline it gives him. sure, it now being something that him and yeonjun have in common gave it some bonus points in taehyun’s book, but skateboarding was also just a genuinely good time for the short brunette.

“i think you’re reaching,” taehyun mutters in response to beomgyu's enthusiastic statements. the younger boy makes sure to keep his eyes locked on the ground, a few feet in front of where his board actually is, for the sake of remaining balanced.

“i don’t think so, but we’ll just have to see! hyun, you picked everything up so quick, you might as well come back and give mr. pretty boy a run for his money in a couple of months.”

“maybe i will,” taehyun grins, and it’s settled from there.)

—

with two months of consistent skateboarding under his belt, taehyun is quite proficient. beomgyu merely rolls his eyes at this, claiming that he knew his best friend would be a quick learner, but still eagerly teaches him more advanced tricks as they go. this week, taehyun starts trying to attempt a kickflip, but struggles with it tremendously. it’s while attempting that trick that taehyun stumbles off his board, ending up in a kneeling position on the ground as he tries to regain his breath. when someone asks “taehyun, you good?” from across the park, yeonjun’s head whips up from where he's staring at the ground in an instant, searching for the younger boy to ensure he’s okay.

yeonjun manages to spot taehyun within three seconds. despite locating taehyun very quickly, what yeonjun fails to spot is the medium-sized rock in his path, one from this little rectangular gap in the concrete where someone had piled in a bunch of rocks. usually, they all just jumped right over this spot in the floor while skating, but one of the rocks had seemingly found its way out of the ditch, and ended up right in front of the wheel of yeonjun’s skateboard. naturally, the blue-haired boy hits it head on.

“oh my god, jun!” someone, yeonjun thinks it’s soobin, exclaims as he watches the older boy fall.

yeonjun always thought that those injury scenes in movies were stupid, the ones where time seems to slow down. unfortunately, he realizes in this moment how close to reality they are, because in that moment when you’re tumbling to the ground, you’re more than acutely aware of what is happening. still, the issue lies in the fact that you can not stop what is happening as you plummet towards your doom.

yeonjun gets out of it lucky, he figures, especially considering the fact that he’s wearing absolutely zero protective equipment (which he knows is wrong, but in all honesty, not a single college student would spend money on gear when they had tuition to pay), a muscle tee, and jean shorts. he manages to somehow fall forwards, giving him the chance to roll, but he scrapes up both of his arms and his cheek in the process. upon landing, yeonjun also manages to slam his lower leg into the concrete, which he immediately moves to clutch at. around ten of yeonjun’s friends run over to where he’s laying on the concrete, arms out like a starfish as he tries to catch his breath and ignore the wet feeling on his cheek.

“yeonjun, you’re bleeding,” one of yeonjun’s classmates states the obvious as yeonjun pushes himself into a sitting position, rubbing at his elbow.

“i can see that, genius,” he bites back, just the tiniest bit of real malice in his voice. the boy in question puts his hands up as a form of surrendering as yeonjun looks around for his board, which he spots approximately fifteen feet away. beomgyu goes to get it as soobin fusses over yeonjun, asking where he got hurt outside of the obvious cuts on his face and forearms.

“i think i’m okay soobin, but god, my ankle hurts,” the oldest boy mumbles, moving to stand up. “i’m going to go home,” yeonjun tries to convince soobin, but he knows deep down that his friend won’t let him go that easily.

“you can’t ride all the way to the dorms if you just fell on your ankle, jun. look, i’ll get you an uber—”

“an uber? are you crazy? they’re expensive, especially with the musical festival going on a few blocks over,” yeonjun protests, trying to limp around.

“yeonjun, you can not—”

“come on soobin, i’ll be fine!”

“actually,” taehyun suddenly interjects, the brunette stepping forward. “my sister lent me her car for the weekend. i can take you back if you want, yeonjun,” he finishes.

soobin stares at the blue-haired boy, waiting for him to make a decision, but what he’s going to reply is quite obvious to yeonjun himself even before he actually comes out and says it.

“sure, thank you hyun. i appreciate it,” the older boy tries to smile, but it comes out more like a grimace.

“it’s nothing. come on, i’m parked right outside,” the brunette coaxes yeonjun over, but before he goes, he throws a glance over to beomgyu, who is standing on the edge of the group. taehyun raises an eyebrow, nonverbally asking beomgyu if he wants to come with them since he did drive his friend to the park, but beomgyu merely waves taehyun off. “go,” the silver-haired boy mouths, and taehyun nods resolutely as he pulls his keys out of his pocket, opening the passenger’s side door for yeonjun so that the older boy can get in.

“thanks,” yeonjun mutters again, eyes focused on some random patch of grass across the street. taehyun is at the back, shuffling around in his trunk after he puts both his and yeonjun’s skateboards in there. he eventually hops back in the driver’s seat with a first aid kit in hand.

“you have nothing to thank me for, jun. luckily i have this,” he motions towards the white box that he’s sifting through. “in my trunk because of something i had to do for my major,” the brunette fishes out a tiny bottle of saline solution and a gauze pad. “here, let me clean some of your scrapes. we don’t want them to get infected.”

yeonjun turns his body 90 degrees to the left so that he’s facing the brunette, who is gently dabbing at the cuts near his forearms with the gauze patch. “hopefully this doesn’t sting,” the brunette mutters. “i don’t want to hurt you.”

“you would never. you’re good, taehyun.”

“okay,” the brunette gives a soft smile. “i have to put ointment on these too, and then maybe tape a bandage on some of these bigger cuts. you’re mostly just scraped up pretty bad.”

“could be worse,” yeonjun laughs dryly, but taehyun frowns.

“still,” he answers, dabbing at the older boy’s wounds. “i’m sorry you fell. that rock shouldn’t have been there.”

“well, i should have been paying attention,” yeonjun winces as he remembers what exactly led up to his fall.

“it’s okay. we all have our moments,” taehyun replies, finishing with cleaning the scrapes littering yeonjun’s arms. “is it okay if i—” he gestures to the cut right underneath yeonjun’s eye.

“yeah, go right ahead,” yeonjun replies, cringing a little bit on the inside at just how awkward he seems to be. “i don’t mind.”

“okay,” taehyun whispers, sliding forward on his seat so that he can reach yeonjun’s face a lot easier. the brunette rests one hand on the back of yeonjun’s head, wiping at the cuts next to the bridge of the blue haired boy’s nose. “sorry,” he mutters as he scoots forward. “i don’t want to accidentally get this in your eye.”

yeonjun barely registers what is happening in the moment other than the fact that taehyun is close, their faces only separated by mere centimeters of distance. taehyun is breathing lightly, hovering above yeonjun as he tenderly cleans his cuts, cupping the older boy’s left cheek with one hand. it’s the first time they’ve been within such an intimate proximity to one another, with taehyun running his thumbs over the small bandage he’s placing over yeonjun's wound, trying to smooth it out before he tapes it down. taehyun’s gestures are so gentle, and the smaller boy stares wide-eyed and rapt with attention as he tries to treat yeonjun’s injuries.

in his entire life, yeonjun has never wanted to kiss someone more. he could lean in and see if the younger boy would reciprocate anything, but yeonjun knows that it’s not the right time. therefore, the blue haired boy just tries to stay as still as possible while taehyun patches him up, despite the warmth coursing through his veins and the tingling sensation shooting down his spine from the feeling of taehyun’s fingertips ghosting over his skin.

—

“taehyun,” yeonjun says, waving the younger boy over. the brunette glances at beomgyu, who just shrugs, before jogging over.

“hi?” the brunette steps on the back of his skateboard so that he can grab it, now holding it in his hand. “what’s up? i haven’t seen you around for a bit, is your ankle finally feeling better?”

“yeah, it’s good! there's just a little soreness here and there, but i can do some simple skating now. the cuts healed too and everything,” yeonjun proudly shows off his arms, which are newly absent of a lot of the angry red marks that once marred them. “how were your finals?”

“ah, they were good,” taehyun says, but pulls a face. “well, except calculus— that was an absolute pain— but otherwise, it went okay.”

“that’s to be expected,” yeonjun shudders at the thought of having to take more math. “anyways, i got you something! you know, for all of your help last week.”

“ah, didn’t i say that you didn’t have to thank me, yeonjun?” taehyun lightly scolds the older boy.

“yes, but that was before you finished cleaning my wounds, driving me home, and helping me up to my dorm. i decided that you deserve a little something,” the blue-haired boy grins. “i left it in kai’s car; he drove me here today. come with me?”

taehyun spots the huening kai across the quad, where he’s standing with beomgyu and another group of boys. “you guys aren’t staying to skate?”

“no, not today. i just wanted to drop by, see you.”

“oh,” taehyun blushes the slightest bit. “oh, okay. yeah, lead the way,” he stutters out.

after the short walk across the road to kai’s car, yeonjun pulls out a small box covered in matte blue wrapping paper. “here, i thought of you when i saw it. i thought it was perfect.”

upon further inspection, taehyun pulls out a yellow ceramic coffee mug with a small, orange cartoon tabby cat printed on the outside. it has a helmet on, and is skateboarding.

taehyun openly laughs when he realizes what the cat is doing. “oh my god, this is precious. thank you so much jun, this is definitely one of the better gifts i’ve received.”

“i’m glad, i do aim to please,” yeonjun recites airily. kai comes jogging out of the park at that moment, timing that has yeonjun grinning.

“you ready to go?” the youngest, floppy haired brunette asks. “oh, hi taehyun.”

the brunette waves with his free hand, the one not holding the box and mug. kai turns back to yeonjun after he greets taehyun, raising an eyebrow at the older boy in a silent question about whether or not they’re going to leave.

“yeah, i’m ready,” yeonjun nods, and kai starts getting into the driver’s seat, unlocking his car. yeonjun turns back to the shorter brunette, smiling. “i guess i have to go now. it was nice seeing you, and thanks again.”

taehyun rolls his eyes fondly. “i think you’ve more than compensated me, but thank you. this is really nice, actually.”

“it was nothing,” yeonjun begins to walk towards the passenger’s side of the car, where he opens the door to his seat. “oh, and taehyun?” he calls, which makes the younger boy stop in his tracks, as he was walking back towards the opening in the fence so he could re-enter the park.

“yeah?” the brunette whips around.

“there’s a note taped to the bottom of the box, by the way,” the blue-haired boy winks before getting into the car, shutting his door behind him. kai and yeonjun zoom off, and taehyun is left just standing there for a few moments, struck absolutely dumb. it takes him a whole ten seconds to peel the letter off of the floor of the gift box, and he opens the piece of paper, which contains a few lines of yeonjun’s slightly messy scrawl.

“ _hi hyun, hope you like the mug._  
_i didn't know how to say this but i really wanted to kiss you in the car last week._  
_i don't know if you feel the same way, but if you do, you have my number, and i'd love to take you out sometime. just let me know._  
_thanks for always taking care of me._  
_xx, yeonjun_ ”

taehyun merely stares at the letter after reading it for the first time, his brain just trying to process what he’s read. eventually, the younger boy is pulling out his phone with a large grin on his face, dialing yeonjun immediately.

“well, that was quick,” the older boy answers after one ring.

“yeah, well, it was an easy decision to make,” taehyun replies honestly.

“oh, well, i’m hoping it’s the good one cause if not...” yeonjun trails off teasingly.

“yes, choi yeonjun, i totally called you within seconds to reject you and not because i was eager. that makes perfect sense.”

“hey, i just want to confirm. you know, account for error in your results and stuff, the scientific method, those kinds of things. you’re a science major, you would know,” yeonjun giggles.

“that’s not— okay, just make your move, you fool.”

“i thought you’d never ask," yeonjun says, making his voice low and sultry. "kang taehyun, would you like to go on a date with me?”

“yeah,” taehyun’s smile is so wide that you can hear it in the way he enunciates his words, even over a phone call. “yeah, i would.”


	3. day three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> today's prompts: sleeping in, cuddling, watching the other sleep + pet names! (when i wrote this last week, i guess i just threw in every cute, cliche prompt in the book. cute, domestic taejun are always on my mind. so, here you go)

yeonjun is quite startled when he wakes up at eight thirty in the evening to a warm body spooning him, cuddled up against his back. yeonjun rarely wakes up first, in fact, it’s happened so infrequently that yeonjun could practically count the instances where it did happen only using his hands. taehyun was the surefire early riser amongst the two of them, and because of this, yeonjun almost always was left alone in a cold bed when he finally roused from his slumber. however, on this day, the universe apparently had other plans.

with physical touch being one of taehyun’s love languages, the younger boy practically clung to yeonjun like a koala during his sleep. it was terribly endearing for the blue haired boy to see, especially since taehyun made sure to relentlessly tease huening kai for doing the same to soobin in public.

“you guys are so embarrassing,” the young brunette rolled his eyes from across the picnic table, one they had all occupied for lunch earlier that same afternoon. kai, right upon his arrival, had ceremoniously plopped himself down right in soobin’s lap when choosing a seat.

“oh, let them be hyun,” beomgyu interjects, glancing at the new couple with a small smile on his face. the blonde boy then turned back to taehyun, now smirking. “plus, we’ve all been forced to witness you and yeonjun being glued together for over a year now—”

“oh would you look at that!” taehyun suddenly exclaims, snatching his neuroscience notes out of beomgyu’s hands and shoving them back into his folder. “i guess i don’t have anything from that lecture. sorry, gyu,” the short brunette gives his older friend a faux, tight-lipped smile.

beomgyu gapes, leaning forward to attempt to grab the notes out of taehyun’s outstretched hands. “wait, no, taehyun—! i need those! our final is in two weeks!”

soobin, who’s sitting besides taehyun, just reaches up and easily takes the papers out of taehyun’s grasp, an action that made the younger boy sputter in indignation. “curse you and your long arms,” he mutters.

“oh, don’t be such a grouch,” soobin chides, petting taehyun’s hair. “your boyfriend is coming,” the taller boy finishes, and that has taehyun’s head snapping up in an instant. he sees yeonjun approaching their table with a brown paper bag in his hand, one brandishing the name of their favorite lunch spot on campus.

“hey,” the blue-haired boy sweeps in, pressing a quick kiss to taehyun’s cheek before settling down next to him, on taehyun's other side (a move which makes beomgyu joke that he’s being marooned alone on one side of the bench, since both of the two couples somehow ended up sitting opposite of him. soobin, rolling his eyes, gets up— taking with kai with him— to placate beomgyu). 

“hi,” taehyun grins, light and easy, because it’s his natural response in yeonjun’s presence. “how was your day?”

“it was okay, but it's better now that i’m seeing you of course,” yeonjun smiles, connecting their lips for a quick kiss (it was quick, always quick, because of beomgyu’s ultimatum. the younger boy had quipped that “i have the right to throw grapes at any of you guys if you start making out in front of me” once his friends were all paired off. one time when beomgyu believed that soobin and kai had been kissing for too long, the blonde haired boy actually stuck to his promise and chucked one of his orange slices at the new couple, eliciting a squawk of disapproval from the both of them. yeonjun, beomgyu, and taehyun had all dissolved into a fit of giggles at the indignant faces of their friends, but a smile quickly formed on kai's face at such a sight, an action that soobin promptly mirrored). 

“but," yeonjun continues, sighing. "chemistry kind of kicked my ass. gosh, i _hate_ lab periods,” the oldest lets his head fall to the wooden table top. 

“you’ll be okay, don’t worry," taehyun comforts his boyfriend, rubbing his shoulder. "plus, you know i can always help you understand the material if you need me to teach you.”

“thank god for you,” yeonjun groans. “if you hadn’t taken the class last year, i think i would have flunked the midterm,” the blue-haired boy leans on taehyun’s arm, resting his head on it as he closes his eyes. “oh, yeah, i got you your food. they ran out of your favorite bowl though, so i just got the other one that you like.”

“thanks babe,” taehyun replies, reaching over to grab the bag. beomgyu fake retches, which makes the brunette just narrow his eyes at his slightly older friend, staring pointedly at his notes. taehyun’s look has the blonde retreating in seconds.

after their group lunch, the five of them split off into three groups; beomgyu and soobin go back to the quad to head towards their afternoon classes, but yeonjun and kai are finished with school for the day and get to return to their shared dorm. meanwhile, taehyun has to leave to attend an interview for a summer internship program that he’s been eyeing for eight months now. right after he finishes up with the interview, taehyun whips out his phone to shoot yeonjun a text.

_come over tonight?_

"of course," comes yeonjun's almost instantaneous reply. "movie night?"

 _yeah, it's your turn to pick by the way._  
_see you soon <3_

yeonjun says a quick goodbye to kai, who is laying on his stomach, face stuffed in his pillow. yeonjun gives the younger boy a quick pat on the head before he leaves, but kai barely responds besides the quick grunt of distress he lets out (the youngest boy had an english essay due the next day, so it was understandable). upon arrival to taehyun’s apartment— taehyun was a RA, so he got much better and cheaper living quarters than the rest of his friends— yeonjun finds his younger boyfriend dressed in a lilac sweatshirt, scrolling through the netflix catalog with one hand holding the remote. in the other hand, taehyun is stabbing at a bowl of oranges with a fork, carefully bringing them to his mouth.

“i thought i was going to pick,” yeonjun notes, setting his key to taehyun’s apartment down on the bedside table before kicking off his shoes and jumping into the bed. the bowl almost flies into the air, which makes taehyun yelp in surprise, but yeonjun quickly grabs it before it can make a mess.

“sorry, i did not think that one through," the older boy apologizes, wincing at the thought of the disaster he could have created (taehyun would have chastised yeonjun for a very long time if he had spilled orange juice in the younger boy's bed). "anyway, hand over the remote.”

“ok bossy,” taehyun says, but immediately complies and leans his head on his boyfriend’s chest anyway. “it’s been boring without you today."

"do you want to sleep over?" taehyun suddenly asks, lifting his head to look up at yeonjun. "my eight A.M. tomorrow got cancelled and honestly, with the shit i just went through in that interview, i doubt i would’ve made it there anyway. i think i might crash soon,” he warns.

“you? taking a nap? what happened?” yeonjun jokes, but the worry in his tone is evident as he laces his fingers with taehyun. “you okay, baby?” 

taehyun rolls his eyes as he recalls the events of the earlier afternoon. “the people that ran the place were just...ugh, they were kind of gross. a lot of their comments rubbed me the wrong way, they were just really snide," taehyun mutters, rustling around underneath the covers so that can he lay down in a more comfortable manner. "like seriously, asian math jokes?” he groans, rubbing at his eyes. “i'm tired of it all, figuratively and literally, so sorry in advance if i fall asleep.”

yeonjun shakes his head. “no, you need rest. i’ll join you, in fact. i spent the last three hours trying to do a mountain of homework and i’m only like three-quarters of the way done, so i need this too.”

“thank god i did all my work early. i think my brain would explode if i had to do anything else,” the younger boy comments as he watches yeonjun flip through netflix, still looking for something they can watch. “i’m only programmed for one thing right now, and it’s cuddling,” taehyun says, placing his arm around yeonjun’s waist. 

taehyun pouts when yeonjun doesn’t move any closer, the older boy’s eyes still being locked on his tv screen. “come closer, jun,” he all but demands, now throwing his leg around his boyfriend as well. yeonjun merely laughs.

“one second hyun, and then i’ll let you hold me,” yeonjun pauses, looking at the things he just added to taehyun’s list. “okay, we’re watching this,” he finalizes the decision, pressing play before shuffling closer into taehyun's torso.

taehyun reaches around to boop yeonjun on the nose, who cranes his neck to look back at his boyfriend. “hi, sweetheart.”

taehyun giggles. “hi.”

“you’re extra cute today.”

“oh god, you say this every day,” taehyun laughs, slapping the older boy with the sleeve of his sweatshirt, nose crinkling with glee and faux distaste.

“okay but keep in mind that this is my favorite sweater on you. mostly because it’s mine,” yeonjun grins, flashing his teeth at taehyun. "so you look particularly precious right now."

“i might have considered that factor when i picked it out,” taehyun pokes at the thin, lavender fabric adorning his body with a small smile. “also, it’s just really comfortable. i have no idea what kind of shirts you’re buying, but i want more.”

“i’m sure you’ll get your hands on more of my stuff, like you always do.”

“are you calling me a thief?” taehyun playfully frowns, moving to poke at yeonjun’s side with the tips of his fingers, tickling the oldest boy. “that’s kind of rude.”

“i mean it in the best way, angel, you know that,” yeonjun buries his head in the crook of taehyun’s neck. “now, the movie is starting, so shh.”

it’s a futile request, they both know it, considering that they were both the type to comment on the littlest of things during films. the first movie, some teen comedy, is quite amusing to the two of them just because of how terrible it turns out to be. the next is much better, a cross between a romance film and a murder mystery, but taehyun still finds himself extremely drowsy by the exposition of the second movie. he passes out about an hour in, an action which yeonjun soon copies. yeonjun falls asleep with taehyun still cradling the older boy's head with his chin, while long, slender arms were wrapped tight around his boyfriend.

waking up from their nap three hours later, yeonjun finds that taehyun has somehow adjusted his position so that the two of them are laying even closer together, their limbs almost being completely entangled with each other. it’s terribly endearing, but yeonjun decides to just let it be because he’s surely not complaining about such a priceless development. the older boy peers across the room, checking the time on the television that was mounted to the wall, but yeonjun doesn’t feel like moving and waking his sleeping boyfriend would be a great idea despite it nearing nine o'clock at night. taehyun seemed so exhausted that yeonjun just wants him to rest, so the older boy makes a grab for his phone, which is sitting on the nightstand, and scrolls through his missed texts for a little while. he’ll steal glances at taehyun out of the corner of his eye here and there, admiring the peaceful look on the younger boy’s face. something that had always been really striking to yeonjun was taehyun’s prince-like visual, as the brunette had a grand total of zero flaws. his skin was smooth and honey-toned, and his facial features were all proportional and fairly symmetrical (something yeonjun was very envious of, despite taehyun’s protests that yeonjun already had a perfect visual appearance so the older boy's worries were unfounded). as he slept, taehyun’s hair got mussed around, and his fluffy, chestnut-colored locks were fanned out against the pillow in a way that his boyfriend found absolutely adorable. taehyun always managed to radiate a warmth that resonated with yeonjun; it was something that attracted the older ever since their first meeting. with time came their growing bond and the blossoming of their eventual relationship, but throughout it all, these smaller moments have always stood out to yeonjun.

the younger boy doesn’t wake up until ten at night, and in those ninety minutes, yeonjun does a lot of nothing. he finds himself mostly ignoring the netflix show in favor of checking his social media accounts and watching taehyun sleep. when the younger boy begins to stir, he snuggles further into yeonjun, an action which makes the blue-haired boy openly coo at how adorable his boyfriend was being. eventually, a bleary taehyun finally opens his eyes completely (he never did grow out of sleeping with his eyes partly opened, but it was one of the younger boy's quirks that yeonjun embraced and loved irrevocably), blinking slowly as he finds himself completely in yeonjun’s arms. 

“mm, what time is it?” the younger boy mumbles, readjusting himself so that the side of his head is pressed right in the junction between yeonjun’s neck and shoulder. “i’m sleepy.”

yeonjun giggles at that statement. “darling, you just woke up. give it a few minutes. you’ve been out for a few hours; it’s almost ten P.M. right now.”

“not enough,” taehyun almost whines. “i need to sleep for a few years.”

“i mean,” yeonjun’s eyes flicker back to the television. “technically, you could if you wanted to, i just have to move—”

“no,” taehyun harrumphs. “don't, you’re warm.”

“babe, we could just turn down the AC if you're cold—”

“and that would involve you moving, so we’re not doing that,” taehyun silently chuckles. he grabs onto yeonjun’s arm so that the older boy will stay, but begins to untangle their connected limbs so that they can both move a bit more freely. “there you go, now at least your blood circulation won’t be cut off. stay? please?”

“i don’t think i was ever leaving,” yeonjun smiles, the pure and utter adoration he had for his boyfriend clear as day from his facial expressions. “now that i can actually feel my limbs, this is much better, so thank you. come here,” yeonjun reaches out for taehyun’s smaller frame. he wraps his free arm around taehyun’s back, pulling the younger boy flush against his own torso where he quickly nestles in. 

“my little koala,” yeonjun teases, ruffling up taehyun's already messy hair.

“you’re just a replacement for a stuffed bear, so shh," the brunette bites back. "but gosh, you sure are warm," he mumbles. "how are you so warm?”

“well, after you kicked the blanket to the ground, you managed to climb over me while staying asleep,” yeonjun rolls his eyes fondly. “so i literally had all of your weight on top of me as i was being squished right onto the mattress.”

“that sounds like a normal event to me. you’re just really warm today, i guess,” taehyun jokingly shrugs, snuggling closer. 

“good to know my body temperature has matched my level of hotness,” yeonjun quips, but taehyun shushes him.

“sleep. you need to rest too jun, i did not forget about that chemistry class you have at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. did you set your alarm?”

“yes hyun, i did,” yeonjun stops craning his neck and finally lays back against the pillow. “i love you.”

“i love you too. now, it's time to sleep. it’s for your own good.”

neither of them bother to turn off the tv, which is still on at minimum volume. they let themselves be lulled to sleep by the low humming of said running machine, the quiet dialogue of the show that’s switched on, and each other’s soft breathing. they’re still wrapped up in one another come morning.


	4. day four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm pretty sure this is my favorite out of all seven one-shots. i'm very unsure as to whether or not it's the best written of the bunch, but either way, it was a prompt that i was quite excited to write and i'm glad i got to do so for taejun!
> 
> today's prompt: modern royalty.

yeonjun sneaks out of the castle right after his daily supplementary math lessons come to an end. he can’t seem to get out of there fast enough, seeing as it was two fifty-two in the afternoon by the time that his class wrapped up, and yeonjun had somewhere to be in a mere eight minutes. however, with a combination of light jogging and some sprinting, yeonjun managed to cross the small stream next to the castle walls and enter the heart of the forest at two minutes before three o’clock. he settles down on his log of choice— their log of choice— while trying to simultaneously keep his robes clean so that his maids won’t approach him with any questions. if they did, yeonjun would receive the regular stern lecture from his parents about the decorum that a person of royal blood was expected to adhere to, and how quote-unquote running around "like a fool" in dirt had no place in a prince’s world. yeonjun would often sit in an extremely rigid manner because of this fact, a desperate attempt to not stain his clothes. while he was usually successful, the effort it took to not get a speck of grime on his garments was absolutely obnoxious to the black-haired boy. 

yeonjun has to wait two minutes, but like clockwork, the sound of rustling leaves becomes audible at three o'clock as someone jogs through the forest. their feet are pounding against the mud, which is slightly sticky but gives way just enough so that someone can plant their foot and run with ease.

eventually, the footsteps get closer, and yeonjun hears a quiet “hey” being called out to him. the black-haired boy finds himself grinning before he even turns around; he knows the voice.

taehyun stands there, lithe frame covered in billowy old clothes (he mentioned to yeonjun at an earlier date that he borrows most of his clothes from his older siblings; they were hand-me-downs of sorts. yeonjun still thinks the younger boy looks stunning at all times, no matter what he's wearing). the top taehyun is wearing today is a dark, faded blue that works wonders for his build, perfectly complimenting his rich, honey-colored skin.

“hello, your majesty,” yeonjun makes a show about getting up to bow before taehyun, who just giggles, gently hitting the older boy's shoulder.

“rich, coming from you,” taehyun says pointedly, taking yeonjun's hand in his.

“oh, you know you’re my prince,” yeonjun throws one look behind him, just as a form of precaution to make sure that no one is there, before he presses his lips to taehyun’s forehead. with the brunette being slightly shorter in stature, he was just the right height for yeonjun to easily plant a kiss there.

taehyun lives in the town yeonjun’s family ruled over— but the older boy had learned that the concept of them being actual rulers was somewhat of a misconception in itself, as taehyun had quickly explained just how the monarchy worked to his friend; they were really mere figureheads when it came to political affairs. according to taehyun, the royal family was simply comprised of nominal leaders backed by entire leagues of high-ranking officials who were the true decision-makers for their village. while not being of noble birth, taehyun still managed to enroll in the same private school that yeonjun had attended since birth because his dad was a newly-hired teacher there. eventually, such a high profile job could earn the kang family some greater status around their town, but they were decisively average in social ranking for the time being— not possessing the hereditary wealth of the other aristocrats, but they also weren't terribly poor either. 

befriending taehyun was quite a process. the younger boy obviously had prior knowledge of yeonjun's identity, and who didn't, especially when the older was the heir to the throne of their little kingdom. therefore, the short brunette was perfectly polite with yeonjun at first, so civil that he came off as cold (“that was the point,” taehyun once deadpanned to yeonjun as the prince shared his accounts of their first meetings. yeonjun merely pouted until taehyun started to ruffle his hair, quick to reassure his the older boy. “don’t worry, that was before i got to know your dumbass”). after a significant amount of pestering from yeonjun, who was strangely invested in becoming friends with his slightly younger classmate, taehyun eventually caved; yeonjun was nice, and the younger boy had to admit that the prince made for surprisingly good company. the two started off with spending their lunch periods together, but a few months later, they were put in the same after school study hall group at yeonjun’s secret request (yeonjun wasn’t one to abuse his power, but when he wanted something, being a prince certainly came in handy). naturally, the two became closer with time, because they now had to spend at least an hour locked in the same room with no one but themselves and a teacher (one who was both yeonjun and taehyun’s favorite: mr kim. the young teacher trusted the two boys so much that he’d often leave to go make tea while they were finishing up worksheets). after their study hall period came to an end, taehyun and yeonjun would always walk out of the building together, where a red-faced yeonjun would board his carriage. yeonjun had been so mortified by his gold-accented ride one week into walking out with taehyun that he begged his parents to give him a smaller and more simple carriage to take him to and from school, without giving them an exact explanation as to why he wished for such a change. despite their confusion, his parents agreed, probably guessing that yeonjun wanted to fit in with a greater variety of his peers, which was half of the truth. 

however, it’s after these study hall periods where the switch flips in their dynamic, especially after one afternoon, when yeonjun’s carriage has arrived but taehyun’s father is nowhere in sight. on a typical day, mr. kang would already be waiting in the parking lot for his son, but upon checking his texts, taehyun finds out that his dad is stuck in some sort of parent-teacher conference.

“well, looks like i’m stuck here for the next half an hour,” the younger boy says, breathing out a sigh. with this action, some of the brunette's hair that was previously falling in his face goes shooting up out of his eyes.

yeonjun takes a quick glance at his ride, with his driver not so subtly eyeing the two students out of the corner of his eyes. the older boy considers asking mr. jung to drive taehyun home, but then remembers that his parents can track his carriage and quickly decides against it. 

“give me a minute. i’m going to go see if i can stay with you until he finishes,” yeonjun starts, making a break for where mr. jung is parked despite taehyun’s protests.

“mr. jung—” yeonjun sing songs as he throws open the carriage door.

“what do you want, your majesty?” the older male says in a serious, blank voice, which makes yeonjun grin.

“always right to the point as usual, mr. jung. can you wait here for a little longer, maybe half an hour or so? taehyun and i,” yeonjun glances towards the younger boy, who is still standing by the school steps. “we have to finish something, for uh— a project," yeonjun lies through his teeth. "yeah, so we both need to stay at school. i’ll be out in thirty minutes, if it’s okay with you.”

“go ahead, your majesty,” mr. jung replies offhandedly, shooing the young prince away. a laughing yeonjun runs back to taehyun’s spot and eagerly informs the boy that he’ll wait with him.

“but— well, we can’t stay here, because i kind of lied,” yeonjun glances back to his ride. “do you want to go back inside and then sneak out the back door? i have the key to the school's garden.”

“of course you do,” taehyun rolls his eyes. “i can not believe you managed to convince mr. jung to let you stay.”

“hey! i’m very charming, i’ll have you know,” yeonjun pouts as the two of them clamber up the stairs and back into the school building. the secretary eyes them suspiciously upon arrival, but when she gets a better look at yeonjun and realizes who he is, she’s getting up to bow in the blink of an eye. yeonjun gives her a warm smile.

“that’s news to me,” taehyun bites back. yeonjun smirks, sticking out his arm so that taehyun can latch onto it.

“let me show you, then,” yeonjun gives the younger boy a smooth wink. taehyun scoffs but loops his arm through yeonjun’s anyway, something that makes the older boy’s heart skip a small beat. sure, yeonjun had flirted around before— he was a teenager after all— and with his status naturally came a hoard of admirers. while their praise did flatter yeonjun, he wasn’t quite so interested in any of them when it came to dabbling in something more serious. in his parents’ eyes, his fellow schoolmates were all perfectly qualified candidates for a relationship with the prince in terms of their social standing and prestige (especially when the school’s tuition was taken into account, something taehyun always complained about. his family got a 35% discount with his father’s job, but as taehyun put it, the costs of attending their academy were absolutely ludicrous), but yeonjun didn’t like any of his other peers in any deeper, romantic way.

on the other hand, yeonjun wanted taehyun. it wasn’t necessarily all about the chase, even though yeonjun did have to admit that it was quite intriguing to find someone who wasn’t immediately willing to throw themselves at his feet upon their initial meeting. taehyun was one of the first people yeonjun has ever actively pursued because taehyun didn’t treat the older boy any differently from his peers once they moved past some of their initial hostility (or taehyun's initial hostility, as yeonjun saw it) and got to know one another. taehyun listened and easily complied when yeonjun insisted that the younger boy call him by his name, just plain old yeonjun, when they’re together (which was something yeonjun had never requested from another individual, but to him, it just felt weird for such a close friend to have to speak to him so officially. although apprehensive at first, taehyun eventually agreed when he realized just how much it would mean to yeonjun). yeonjun appreciates how willing taehyun was to completely drop the overly formal titles that their classmates would use to address him, peers who would all be gushing out a sickly sweet “your majesty” with every sentence they spoke to the young prince. during study hall, when mr. kim had stepped out and it was only the two of them left in the small room detached from the school's main library, taehyun would cling onto yeonjun. the younger brunette would immediately rest his head on the older boy’s arm, trying to squeeze in a short nap, or move to play with yeonjun’s dainty fingers under the table, an action that had become a force of habit for taehyun. it was the little gestures, the small things that yeonjun feels like he missed out on because everyone saw him as some “greater than thou” individual, as some type of idol, just because he was of royal blood. yeonjun felt as if no one saw him; they just saw his family name and the crown on his head (whether or not he was wearing it, as yeonjun tried to get out of putting on his coronet as much as he could. he really only wore it when there was some type of old-fashioned, special ceremony that he had to attend). 

on the other hand, taehyun saw yeonjun for who he was. taehyun saw yeonjun as his classmate, his good friend, all the things yeonjun always wanted to be to someone. yeonjun liked things like this; he liked it simple, and even if nothing in his life was truly painless, the black-haired prince at least liked having the illusion that it was.

when the two of them finally find their way to the school’s back field, settling down on one of the benches that’s placed at the foot of the cobblestone path snaking its way around the garden, yeonjun notices the way the younger boy dreamily gazes at the small pond sitting a few feet before them, watching the dunks with rapt attention. when taehyun realizes that there are eyes on him, he turns back to yeonjun, a brow raised in a questioning look of sorts. yeonjun freezes initially, but then taehyun does too, flinching almost at the way the older boy stops moving. their knees, which were pressed together from the way they sat down, knock against one another in a move that has both of them immediately grabbing at their leg. the two of them let out a quiet “ow” before they’re both dissolving into giggles.

“shit, i’m sorry,” yeonjun lets out between laughs.

“you don’t sound very sincere,” taehyun snorts, rubbing at his knee. “gosh, that hurt, but it’s okay— you did startle me though. why the hell were you staring? did i get pen ink on my face again?”

yeonjun smiles. “no, you’re good. i just—” the older boy pauses, choosing his words carefully. “you just looked good.”

“what a good sweet talker you are,” taehyun laughs, turning back to the ducks. “they’re so cute, look at that one,” he coos, pointing to a smaller one in the corner of the pond. when taehyun looks back at yeonjun, trying to make sure that the older boy has spotted the duck he’s pointed out, his big eyes are starry with glee. “that little guy is adorable.”

“not as cute as you,” yeonjun quips, and the younger brunette is grinning right back at him.

“are you going to act on what you’re saying, choi?” taehyun cocks an eyebrow.

it’s simple, yeonjun decides, as he takes taehyun up on his challenge. he leans in slowly, not so much so that it turns terribly awkward, but just measured enough that the younger boy could back away if he so pleased. but taehyun doesn’t recoil— no, yeonjun realizes with elation, he’s moving closer too— and then they’re kissing. it’s neither of their first kisses, yeonjun knows this for a fact because of a game of truth or dare he previously played with the younger boy, but it’s the only one that has made yeonjun feel this strongly. taehyun’s lips slot perfectly against yeonjun’s, which are slightly fuller, but taehyun’s are incredibly soft— strikingly so, in fact, that it's the first thing yeonjun is able to process. to his own amusement, yeonjun soon realizes that taehyun tastes like grape popsicle, something their anatomy teacher had given them all that day after they all managed to successfully pass one of the last exams of the school year with flying colors. this sugary taste lingers on both of their lips as the two of them share this one chaste kiss, and it’s so sweet— just like taehyun, yeonjun’s mind recognizes. it’s somehow perfectly fitting. 

they eventually part, and yeonjun picks up on the blush dusting the apples of taehyun’s cheeks as he backs away. still, the older boy can’t say much, for he’s sure that his face is glowing a bright red as they speak. 

“not bad, yeonjun. not bad,” taehyun laughs, poking the older boy’s cheeks. fuck.

“my face is on fire, isn’t it?” yeonjun asks, trying to cover it up with the sleeves of his button-up shirt, which is a part of their required school uniform.

“no, don’t,” taehyun tries to pry yeonjun’s hands away from his face. “you’re adorable.”

they don’t talk about the kiss much during their last ten minutes in the garden, but they’re not exactly skating around the topic either. yeonjun’s still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he kissed taehyun— the kang taehyun, the boy he’d been into for almost a year at this point— when the younger boy’s phone starts ringing, the word “dad” plastered on the contact screen. taehyun’s eyes go wide, and he’s skittering off to go take the call with a “one second” thrown over his shoulder at yeonjun. taehyun is scurrying back within two minutes, informing yeonjun that his dad had just finished his meeting and was waiting for him out front.

“i’d say this was a pretty successful study hall period,” taehyun jokes, shoving his cell phone into his back pocket.

“yeah, i uh, i requested that we be put together for study hall actually,” yeonjun hesitantly admits, embarrassment written all over his face.

the smile that appears on taehyun’s face as a response to this confession is so soft at first, the corner of his lips twitching upwards into something so small, so subtle that most would miss it, but yeonjun notices— he notices everything about taehyun. thus, he takes special note of how the younger boy’s smile grows more and more toothy by the second until taehyun is full out smirking and stepping closer to close the small amount distance between the two of them. taehyun promptly pushes himself up onto his tiptoes so that his mouth is level with yeonjun’s ear.

“couldn’t get enough of me, could you?” taehyun asks cheekily.

“i can’t,” yeonjun smiles.

“well, good, because we’re still study hall partners until the school year is over,” the younger boy runs a hand through his hair, settling his heels back down on the grass. “okay— come on, let’s go. i’ll walk you to your ride,” taehyun finishes. the brunette holds out his arm for yeonjun to take in a move that bears identical resemblance to yeonjun’s gesture from earlier. yeonjun easily reciprocates the action, bringing their arms together. however, feeling bold, the prince also decides to intertwine their fingers. a smiling taehyun quickly gives them a brief tug upwards until their hands are snug, firmly slotted against one another. 

the two of them stop holding hands as they approach the secretary, who is the only person left in the school besides them. it goes unspoken, yeonjun just loosens his grip on taehyun’s hand as they round the corner and the younger boy knows what it means. they depart with hushed goodbyes before exiting the building, and yeonjun rushes to his carriage while taehyun easily steps into his father’s car, shooting the older boy a small smile before they drive off. 

mr jung pretends not to notice the crimson-colored flush to yeonjun’s cheeks when the young prince returns to the carriage, and for that, yeonjun is eternally grateful.

the changes to yeonjun and taehyun’s dynamics go unnoticed to everyone but them because they naturally grow to hide it. while yeonjun doesn’t explicitly state what his parents’ thoughts would be if they learned about his relationship with the younger boy, taehyun gets it; he understands just how important the whole class dynamics and prestige thing is to rest of the choi family. study hall periods end up getting "extended" by thirty minutes a week, something yeonjun excuses as a product of it nearing summer exam season, but in reality, the two of them merely sneak out to the secluded back garden of their campus for some alone time after every school day. how to meet up on weekends is a little tougher for both of them to figure out until taehyun learns about the forest bordering the back of yeonjun’s castle.

“i could wait for you there if you managed to sneak out,” the younger boy mentioned. “have you ever been able to do so before?”

yeonjun rolls his eyes. “oh please, i’m practically a professional at this point. they never notice i’m gone— well, except for soobin, but he doesn’t count. he can sense everything.”

“well, then it’s settled,” taehyun grins. “saturdays and sundays, out in the forest. when do you think you’ll be able to get away without anyone noticing?”

yeonjun purses his lips. “i have extra math lessons to attend on every day of the weekend, but i should be done by 2:45. so, 3 o’clock?”

“sounds good. i look forward to seeing you tomorrow jun, and possibly being an accomplice to a crime.”

“oh my gosh, you’re so dramatic,” yeonjun ruffles the hair of his shorter boyfriend. “for all anyone knows, i’m sneaking out on my own accord, and you're just going to happen to be there with me.”

“well, if i just so happen to find you in the forest tomorrow, then i’ll be very glad to see you,” taehyun replies, unlinking his hand from yeonjun’s as he begins to push open the door and walk outside (the couple had found a separate side exit from their school, one away from the secretary, to use so that they could 𝗮. hold hands for longer and 𝗯. walk around the curve of the parking lot together so they wouldn’t have to leave for their rides so soon. taehyun’s dad always watches them with a knowing smile as they pass his car, which is where taehyun finally departs while yeonjun walks another one-hundred feet to his carriage that's parked in its usual spot at the top of the hill).

“you can count on it,” yeonjun finishes, pressing a kiss to taehyun’s cheek, almost on the corner of his lips.

“tease,” taehyun grumbles, connecting their lips for a brief kiss before they’re once again running off to their rides.

the trips to the forest are always successful, especially with yeonjun being fully mastered in the art of escaping the castle (his younger but much taller brother, soobin, could not say the same. he was caught each and every time he attempted to do so). the two boyfriends thrive in the face of these secret meetings, especially when school ends and they can sneak out whenever they please. taehyun’s parents let him go out wherever he wants, whenever he wants, so they don’t call into question their son’s daily, peculiar lengths of absence from their home. on the contrary, yeonjun’s parents do question their oldest son, but yeonjun gets soobin to cover for him— if anyone at the castle asked, yeonjun was spending his days getting chess lessons from his younger brother (“i don’t even like chess,” soobin had whined when yeonjun informed him of the plan, something yeonjun shushed him for. “it doesn’t matter as long as it’s believable, and i hate to say it, but you’re not exactly the most exciting person alive lil’ bro, so a hobby of chess suits you. now, promise to cover for me, please~?” the older boy had pleaded until soobin eventually gave in). the forest is a freeing atmosphere for both yeonjun and taehyun since they don’t have to hide anything out there, especially with no one really passing by through that particular sector of wooded thicket. it’s particularly calming for yeonjun, who much preferred being out in the outdoors to the confines of castle life. it’s within the bounds of this forest that yeonjun tells taehyun that he loves him for the first time, an event that ends in a mutual confession, with many kisses and several tears being shared between the two of them. it’s here that yeonjun begins to imagine his future with taehyun as an integral part of his destiny, and it’s forbidden in a sense— sure, because it didn’t comply with the expectations of his parents— but yeonjun still lets himself dream because how could he not want to spend the rest of his life with taehyun?

taehyun’s not yeonjun’s first relationship, not even his first boyfriend, but he’s the one who counts. he’s the one who makes all the others pale in comparison, and yeonjun just wants it to last; he wants his world to forever be centered around taehyun. taehyun is yeonjun’s spark of hope in this otherwise dull reality of his, and eventually, everything fades into the background because it’s not nearly as desirable to the black-haired boy as taehyun is. knowing that taehyun reciprocates his affection tenfold helps keep yeonjun afloat. 

however, yeonjun soon realizes that he’s been a little naive for thinking— wishing even— that the universe would let him and taehyun remain in such a peaceful state. for six months, they had snuck around without ever so much of an issue, even as the new school year started up; they just always managed to make time for one another despite the seemingly unconventional circumstances of their relationship. the world seems to have other plans though, because one morning, yeonjun finds himself busy zoning out at some government meeting his that father dragged him and soobin to. while the oldest choi sibling is staring at the marquetry flooring of the royal palace, one of his father’s old generals rolls out a board containing a map of their kingdom and stands before it with a proud leer on his face. there are thick grey pen marks covering the entirety of the west side, with arrows drawn that point into the neighboring city to their village. as the general proudly unveils his plan to maximize the economy of their kingdom, which involves wiping out and relocating an entire portion of their city— the poorer, more residential west side— yeonjun feels his jaw clench as he glares at the table, boring holes into the wooden material sitting before him. the general goes on and on about a new luxury mall that could be placed there, in addition to a slew of other retailers and high-end condos, but yeonjun merely sees red. he doesn’t realize he’s shaking until the meeting ends, and soobin approaches his older brother tentatively, hands cautiously folded together as he tries to get yeonjun to speak. yeonjun just stands up, stalking over to the window of this meeting room, one that overlooked the castle grounds. from the bottom of the hill, where the castle was built, the edges of the forest that lied behind the structure were clearly visible. 

“that’s where taehyun lives,” yeonjun eventually bites out, holding the curtains with an iron grip. 

“what?” soobin asks, looking for further clarification. 

“where they’re trying to set up the water mills and the factory, that’s where taehyun lives,” yeonjun repeats again. “the boy i’m seeing.”

“yeonjun—” soobin starts with a warning tone, but yeonjun keeps speaking. he can’t seem to stop.

“they’re going to kick him out of his home with this new plan, him and a thousand others. they’ll all have to move away within two years, but that’s already one of the lower-income portions of this kingdom and it’ll be awfully difficult for all of them to have to relocate in such a short span of time. does no one see any problem with this?” the older boy blows up, eyes still focused on the treetops outside.

“yeonjun, maybe it’s time for that to happen,” soobin states very cautiously, and yeonjun freezes.

“how could you say that, soobin?” the older boy asks, voice low. he refuses to turn around, refuses to look at his younger brother and say something he will regret, but the fire in his bones is eating at him. yeonjun can feel his frustration bubbling up inside of him. 

“how could you jeopardize our family like this, yeonjun?” soobin retorts, tone turning critical, but his eyes widen when he realizes what he’s done. “yeonjun, i—”

“no, that’s easy for you to say!” yeonjun cries, finally locking eyes with his brother. “you have no idea what it’s like, to fall in love with someone who only you seem to see the beauty in. beomgyu is a prince, soobin. you have no idea, absolutely no idea. if beomgyu was a commoner, wouldn’t you still fight to be with him?” the older boy finishes, and he knows it’s a low blow, mentioning soobin’s boyfriend in their conversation, but he doesn't seem to care in that very moment. yeonjun isn’t thinking straight— he knows he’s not— but he’s just so very 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺. 

soobin goes silent immediately, looking at the floor resolutely. he's lost his words. 

“yeah, would you?” a voice calls, and beomgyu is standing there, with his black fringe bangs falling in front of his eyes. yeonjun and soobin both gape at the sight of the smaller boy. they both thought he was sleeping, since beomgyu was supposed to accompany soobin to said meeting, but the younger choi sibling let beomgyu skip it to sleep in since his boyfriend was up for a good portion of the night practicing his archery skills in the courtyard. but here he was, standing in the corner of the room for god knows how long, accompanied by huening kai— beomgyu's favorite of a slew of guards that his parents sent with him every time he left his own kingdom. the sense of panic in the room heightens, and yeonjun and kai try to make themselves seem as small as possible, knowing that a confrontation was about to occur.

“beomgyu—” soobin starts, tone nervous.

“would you?” beomgyu repeats, staring at soobin. yeonjun had never seen the youngest prince looking at his boyfriend with such a hard, unforgiving gaze. 

“i-” soobin starts, but he ends up merely shutting his mouth again.

“guess that’s my answer,” beomgyu laughs quietly after a few seconds of silence pass by, quickly turning to kai. “let’s go,” is all the shortest boy says.

beomgyu’s boots click down the hallway as he goes, and kai gives the two choi brothers a sympathetic bow as he scurries away, quick to follow after the prince he was responsible for protecting. soobin keeps his head hung low, eyes fixed on the shiny tips of his own leather boots. 

“fuck, i’m sorry about that— i wouldn’t have said anything if i knew he was awake,” yeonjun mutters, almost reaching out for his brother, but stopping halfway. “i’m not mad at you, i swear. you just...you don’t get it, and that’s okay, but i don’t think it’s fair for you to criticize me for doing what anyone would.”

“you’d do anything for beomgyu, soobin. you two have been attached at the hip for over a year at this point, even with him being a whole three hours away most weeks. you would love it if beomgyu lived closer to home so that you could get to be with him more often, right? well, taehyun's here with me now, but he might be gone soon," yeonjun says, voice perfectly even until it begins to fill with more emotion, with greater passion— he needed soobin to really listen to what he was saying. "you’re just too scared to admit it, to even risk hinting at the fact that you would prioritize your wishes over that of mom or dad, or the kingdom, but you’re allowed to be selfish soobin. you have to learn that. tradition isn't always right, and sometimes, you just have to step outside of the bounds it presents or else you’re going to be absolutely miserable by the end. don’t let beomgyu go for good, soob, because you’ll regret it,” yeonjun finishes. the oldest of the two siblings walks away, leaving soobin alone with nothing but the poignant hush of the great hall for company. although quiet in reality, the distressing silence screeches in the slightly younger boy's ears, completely filling the expanse of the room. like usual, soobin feels trapped— is trapped, in fact— within the castle's hollow chambers. 

—

yeonjun’s feet are moving before his mind can even process what he is doing. the soles of his shoes are pounding against the grass as he runs, gaining more momentum with every second; his eyes still trained on the forest before him.

he has to get to taehyun.

the official notice about the relocation plan had just gone out. after two long, slow months of deliberating amongst the town’s council, the group of leaders had finally decided on a set of guidelines that they would have the citizens of the village vote on. 

in a little over a year, taehyun’s neighborhood was either going down at the hands of some cranes, or their kingdom could end up make the unlikely choice to keep that portion of the town intact. however, with such a decision, the townspeople would lose their chance at having new, high-end retail and entertainment facilities lining the west half of their city, along with some new skyscrapers and luxury living facilities, things the wealthy weren't exactly keen to give up. yeonjun wants to laugh bitterly as he recalls what he told soobin two months ago— that he should be selfish— but his lungs are desperately taking in air as he sprints, and he can’t risk letting out a laugh and losing some of the speed he’s gained. however, yeonjun still knew that it was going to take something close to a miracle for their predominantly wealthy, aristocrat-filled village to vote to keep the west side residential when the other option of this government-designed plan held so much appeal for them, despite how unethical such a decision would be for other citizens.

yeonjun finds taehyun already perched on their designated log of choice when he arrives. the older boy is panting heavily when he finally stops running, placing his hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath.

“no offense, but fuck your council,” taehyun starts the conversation, tone filled with acid. usually, the younger boy would be swinging his legs from where he's sitting on said log, but on this day, he is as stony as a statue. he barely reacts when yeonjun moves in closer. 

“agreed,” yeonjun replies, holding out his arms to wrap his boyfriend in a hug. “fuck, i’m so sorry.”

“my dad is terrified,” is all taehyun admits, suddenly tearing up the tiniest bit. “fuck, my parents worked so hard for our home, and they’re threatening to tear it down for some dumb mall and tall buildings. plus, the relocation plan sucks, and a year of notice is way too short of a timeframe. my neighbors and i have basically no time to prepare if this goes through—” the younger boy trails off with a hiccup. taehyun seems to freeze up right then, realizing what exactly he's doing and how he must look, so the brunette immediately switches his demeanor. 

“no, i will not cry,” taehyun tells himself, wiping at the tears building in the corner of his eyes. “i will not.”

“you can cry,” yeonjun assures the younger boy, and he means it; if taehyun needs to cry, yeonjun would prefer if he was there to comfort his boyfriend. however, the younger boy just looks at the young prince with fire blazing in his eyes, steadfast in his resolve to not shed tears over this vote that taehyun is quick to call out as absolute tomfoolery on the part of their village council.

“i will not cry,” taehyun repeats, looking up into yeonjun's eyes. "i'm not going to."

“okay,” yeonjun replies, simple and accepting. “there is a chance this doesn’t go through. there’s still hope,” the older boy continues, and he's not sure who he's trying to remind of said fact— whether it's his boyfriend or himself. yeonjun figures that there's probably a happy medium somewhere. 

“there better be,” taehyun chokes. “there better be, or else literally everything about my life is going to change, and i’m not ready for it to.”

yeonjun’s “me either” is another thing that is left unsaid between the two of them, but it still manages to echo around the forest, remaining audible despite the fact that yeonjun seals his lips shut as he pulls a somber taehyun tighter to his chest.

—

for a significant portion of the next two weeks, taehyun flat out does not show up to school. he and his family, along with some others on the west side of their town, decide to help set up a campaign for their cause and ensure that this demolition vote does not go through. taehyun's father misses the first week, but taehyun stays out of class for an extra five days since he figures he can afford the extra absences. one night, taehyun is creating a digital poster on his computer when he goes on a heated rant about the topic of said flyer over the phone call he's having with yeonjun, the younger boy extensively detailing the ethical reasoning behind keeping the west side of their town mainly residential rather than commercial so as to not displace thousands of people. yeonjun is incredibly proud of taehyun’s tireless work, and never fails to inform his boyfriend of just that, but he does miss the brunette's presence. taehyun isn’t there for yeonjun to eat lunch with, for yeonjun to walk through the walls with, for yeonjun to laugh away study hall with, for yeonjun to hold hands with, or for yeonjun to kiss goodbye. it’s even more eye-opening than the meeting where the plan was initially unveiled, when yeonjun’s blood ran cold at the mere thought of such a vote going through, because now that taehyun was basically gone for the time being, yeonjun realizes just how drab his life is without the younger boy’s bright presence. it gives yeonjun far too much time alone with his thoughts, time to think about the worst outcomes of this big plan for him and taehyun— ones that could very well become a reality in their village— and the older boy is quite honestly terrified the more he thinks about it. he tries not to, taehyun even tells his boyfriend not to worry himself over it, but it's hard.

“i miss you,” yeonjun admits on another late phone call that the two share, right as the clock nears midnight. he hears taehyun breath out a sigh on the other end.

“i miss you too, junie. i’m sorry i’m so busy but—”

“no, please don’t apologize,” yeonjun bites his lip hard. “you’re doing the right thing. i should be the one who is sorry.”

“you’re not responsible for the decisions of some old people who unfortunately happen to live in the same building as you,” taehyun comforts the older boy, voice soft. “no one blames you specifically.”

“they just blame my dad.”

“well…” taehyun trails off. “i mean, they do, i won’t lie to you.”

“good, he deserves it.”

“he’s your father, yeonjun. listen, he’s threatening to knock my home down and even i don’t completely hate him. you know there’s a lot that goes into these decisions, so don’t direct all of your ire his way. make sure you spread it around evenly, like peanut butter on a slice of bread.”

yeonjun blinks before he breaks out into a smile, throwing his head back with a laugh. “are you okay over there, taehyun?”

“i’m tired,” taehyun giggles. “that was a bad simile, but you know what i mean and it got the job done; it made you laugh.”

“you did,” yeonjun admits. “but i just wish there was more that i could do, you know, that there were more ways i could possibly help.”

“you’re helping by just talking to me. honestly, i’ve been around so many adults these last couple of weeks that i feel like i've forgotten what it’s like to talk to people my age,” taehyun snorts. “i am looking forward to coming back to class though, especially since i'll get to reunite with you. i'm not so excited about lugging in the literal pile of work i have to bring in with me on monday.”

“i’ll help you carry it,” yeonjun promises.

“you’re sweet,” taehyun replies, and yeonjun can hear his grin through the phone. “but i’ve been working out lately, so i’ll be fine.”

“that’s a slightly terrifying thought, you being as buff as me one day.”

“i think it sounds great,” taehyun laughs. “i’m really looking forward to finally seeing you. we just have to wait a little longer.”

“three days. just three more days,” yeonjun repeats.

“i’ll be counting down by the minute,” taehyun promises. “but for now, i’m going to sleep, and you should too, with that party tomorrow and all.”

yeonjun groans, setting his forehead on the top of his desk's white, wooden tabletop. “why would you remind me?”

“i’m sorry,” taehyun tries to muffle his laugh. “you’ll be okay, jun. you can push through it.”

“but i have to third wheel soobin and beomgyu for four hours,” yeonjun whines. “hyuka always refuses to ditch with me because he can’t afford to leave beomgyu out of his sight at these events and risk getting chewed out, so i always just end up sitting in the basement with a plate of appetizers as i hide from everyone that is looking for me.”

“what a true, virtuous prince that you are,” taehyun teases. “at least try to get some good food, jun. i don’t know much about these fancy parties, but i’m sure the food is at least decent.”

“it is. i would steal you some, but i don’t think it has a two-day shelf life.”

“that’s okay, it’s romantic enough that you would even consider bringing me some of your rich people food. for that, you're truly the best boyfriend in the world.”

“i hope so,” yeonjun smiles softly.

“you are, yeonjun, you definitely are. i couldn’t ask for anything more,” taehyun answers honestly. “oh no, my mom just started yelling. i’m not sure if you can hear her through the phone, but the walls at our house are paper-thin, and she really wants me in bed. i’ll talk to you as soon as i get up, okay?”

“i’ll be waiting. sleep well, love.”

“thank you jun. good luck and good night. i love you,” is the last thing yeonjun hears before taehyun ends the call, and the dopey smile that the older boy wears stays plastered across his face even as he shuts off his phone for the night.

—

the party is, as usual, incredibly boring. yeonjun gets roped into a few conversations towards the beginning of the night, but he eventually manages to make his grand escape after getting a reluctant soobin (and beomgyu, by association) to take his place in said discussions. yeonjun greets huening kai before he retreats further down the halls of his own palace, where he locks himself into one of the castle's libraries for a good portion of the night. eventually, yeonjun is forced back out when beomgyu comes looking for the older boy at soobin’s request. yeonjun can’t break loose from beomgyu’s grasp, as the shorter boy firmly drags yeonjun back into the main hall by the wrist.

“but why,” yeonjun whines, trying to dig his heels into the tile so that beomgyu won’t be able to pull him any further. he quickly stops when beomgyu levels him with a glare.

“if we have to suffer, so should you!” beomgyu states emphatically. 

“but you guys have each other! it’s unfair!” yeonjun scoffs.

“come on, just hang out with us for a while, and then we’ll let you go. maybe less old people will approach if the four of us are immersed in our own conversation,” beomgyu comments, leading yeonjun to a spot in the corner of the ballroom where soobin and kai are standing. “i got him.”

“wow, fancy seeing you here, big bro,” soobin snarks. yeonjun narrows his eyes at him.

“i absolutely despise you.”

“no you don’t,” soobin gives the older boy his bunny-like smile, with his slightly longer front teeth poking over his bottom ones. yeonjun hates to admit it, but it has always been an endearing look on soobin, who was widely considered to be the cuter sibling. yeonjun has decided to let soobin keep said title.

“i don’t, but i wish i did,” yeonjun grumbles as he drapes himself around his younger brother, but is quickly pushed away by beomgyu.

“hands off,” the shorter boy jokes, pulling soobin closer to him, who just easily leans into beomgyu's side.

yeonjun rolls his eyes at the couple in a good-natured manner, but soobin, beomgyu, and kai actually prove to be quite pleasant company. luckily for them, fewer people approach with the intention of chatting throughout the night upon seeing that the four of them were actively talking amongst themselves, which falls right in line with beomgyu’s theory. it's not a total blast, and yeonjun would definitely much rather be sleeping in his own quarters rather than standing with perfect posture in this lavish white and gold party room, but it’s bearable and that’s an improvement. he actually finds himself sort of enjoying his time there, but when his phone dings with a notification, yeonjun is automatically pulling it out on instinct. 

“don’t be rude,” soobin hisses, but beomgyu shakes his head.

“oh let him, we’re all bored anyway.”

“and it’s taehyun,” yeonjun retorts, matter of fact. “like i’d ever miss his text.”

“whipped,” hyukka comments, earning a slap on the neck from the oldest boy. “hey!”

“how do your parents still not know?” beomgyu asks, placing his head on soobin’s shoulder, who has one hand gently holding his younger boyfriend's hip.

“they’re just not looking hard enough,” yeonjun grins. “they just don’t think i’m the type of person for relationships, i guess.”

beomgyu quirks an eyebrow, remembering all of the tales that soobin had told him about his older brother's dating history. “yeah, they really don’t know you, do they?”

“nope,” yeonjun grins. “but this makes it so much easier for me. now, if you excuse me, taehyun says the moon is pretty tonight, so i’m going out on the balcony to see it. maybe i’ll send a picture since we’re looking at the same moon and all.”

“overly cheesy and painfully average, wow, it does sound like something that someone into you would like,” soobin quips.

“aw, i know you’ll miss me so much,” yeonjun grins. “i’ll be back! don’t wait up for me, though!”

“we weren’t planning on it!” beomgyu hollers after him, making soobin and kai erupt into laughter as yeonjun retreats through the crowd. yeonjun ignores his friends, opening the big, white-rimmed glass doors until he steps onto the terrace overlooking the back of the palace: with the garden, the horse stables, and a fountain placed in the center of it all. yeonjun glances up at the sky and sees the moon, but frowns a little to himself. sure, it was a pretty full moon, but it also looked like every other one that yeonjun had seen throughout his years. he wasn’t quite so sure why taehyun particularly picked out tonight's moon to mention in their text messages, but shrugging to himself, yeonjun picks up his phone and begins to take a picture of the bright orb anyways.

yeonjun almost drops the device when he hears rustling in the bushes. when a boy of brown hair steps through a row of evergreen trees, yeonjun does drop his phone, and it goes clattering to the ground in an instant. the older boy yelps, squatting to pick it up, before he pops back up in a flash. taehyun is standing closer now, almost right beneath the balcony.

“hi,” taehyun breathes, looking up at yeonjun from where he’s standing in the grass. “you look great, jun.”

“taehyun,” yeonjun breathes out, a look of shock overtaking his face. “you’re—you’re here.”

“yeah,” the smaller boy smiles. “sorry i can’t come up, but i just wanted to see you. i thought it would be nice to swing by, even if this party is on enemy territory,” he jokes, grinning even wider.

yeonjun takes one glance over his shoulder, looking through the french doors that lead from the celebration hall to the terrace where he is currently standing. he locks eyes with soobin, who is watching him from the inside of the party, with beomgyu hanging off of his arm. the younger, dark-haired sibling merely nods, a look of acknowledgment and understanding, and that’s all yeonjun needs. in one swift motion, he’s stepping on top of the ledge so that he can hop over the stone railing. taehyun’s eyes widen as he watches yeonjun grab onto the stone and shimmy his way down until he’s hanging from his fingertips, feet dangling six or seven feet off of the ground. yeonjun lets go, landing on the ground with his heels slamming into the garden floor.

“yeonjun! oh my god, you idiot,” taehyun hisses, but he’s racing over to where the older boy drops down in an instant. “oh my god, are you okay? you’re not hurt?”

yeonjun scrambles to his feet, pulling the younger boy into a hug. “yeah, i’m fine. fuck— i've missed you. i've missed you so damn much. how are you even here?”

“i missed you too,” taehyun answers from where his face is pressed against yeonjun’s neck. “oh, and soobin helped me get in.”

“he what?”

“like ten minutes ago, he snuck to the front and unlocked the garden gates. he texted me around a week ago to set this up, actually.”

it hits yeonjun right then. soobin, beomgyu, and kai must have set this up— this was their own plan; beomgyu went to get him while soobin snuck outside (successfully!) to bring taehyun into the palace walls. yeonjun makes a mental note to profusely thank them all, maybe even buy the three of them some presents, at a later time.

“you have great friends,” taehyun comments, moving to loop his arms around yeonjun’s neck. they’re facing each other now, eyes locked on one another.

“yeah, i do,” yeonjun smiles. “but none of them are great as my boyfriend.”

“soobin will freak if he hears that,” taehyun grins. “i, for one, am glad to hear that though.”

"good, that's all i need to know. now, it’s been two weeks and i have not kissed you, so i’m going to now.”

“you don’t have to narrate your thoughts, just kiss me, you fool,” taehyun rebuttals, and yeonjun wastes no time before connecting their lips in a slow, sweet kiss. someone gasps— yeonjun doesn’t know who, he doesn’t even know if said person is in the garden with them or if they’re standing on the balcony, but he can’t bring himself to care. they don’t break apart at the sudden intrusion, just continuing their kiss in the middle of a slightly dented mown path until they’re both breathless.

“i can’t believe i had to wait two weeks to do that,” yeonjun says, trying to catch his breath. “worth it.”

“definitely, but i really don’t feel like staying apart from you for that long ever again.”

“me either,” yeonjun easily agrees. “let’s not do it then.”

“sounds like a plan,” taehyun agrees, smiles spreading on both of their faces. they both know that it’s still a possibility— the upcoming vote was still looming over their town, but right now wasn’t the time to worry, not when they were side by side despite everything that could possibly keep them apart. if they managed to stay together to this point, why should anything in the future be able to stop them?

“you want to come inside?” yeonjun asks, turning back towards the castle behind them. there’s no one on the balcony, so yeonjun figures whoever spotted them must have left in a hurry.

“that’s probably the worst idea you’ve ever had,” taehyun laughs. “it seems like you really want me to dance with the enemy.”

“i mean, do you want to? we can kind of hear the music from out here,” yeonjun turns back to look down at taehyun. the older boy slightly widens the gap between their bodies before extending his hand to his boyfriend, a “shall we?” escaping his lips.

taehyun nods. “we shall,” the younger boy answers, grabbing the young prince’s hand.

the two of them waltz around the fields for a good thirty or so minutes, giggling to themselves and stealing kisses in between the songs that the live orchestra was playing. eventually, soobin rushes outside, warning them that the party was ending so the guards were now doing their nightly once over in the castle's courtyard. the two brothers help taehyun scale the fence and subsequent walls bordering the palace, but taehyun is sure to plant one last kiss on yeonjun’s lips before he goes.

“thanks for your help soobin. jun, i’ll see you on monday,” taehyun blows a kiss his boyfriend’s way before he’s jumping down, heading towards the stream— the same way yeonjun usually enters the woods for their secret meetings. yeonjun immediately rushes back inside, going to his bedroom so he can watch taehyun walk over the hill. he only walks away from the window when he sees taehyun disappear between the trees of the very forest they both know so well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed at least some of this one-shot! four out of seven down, three left to go.
> 
> wishing you all the best. stay safe and healthy, and take care of yourself! thank you so much for your time and all the support, your kudos and comments are really encouraging for me. until next time! <3
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/decalcomoniaa)


	5. day five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a couple of notes.
> 
> 1\. hi! i usually don’t post this early but i have almost zero power after dealing with a tropical storm that hit my hometown yesterday, and i needed to get this up, so while i’m clinging on to the last bit of wifi that i have, i decided to just upload this one-shot a little early. if there are any formatting mistakes, please forgive me! i find editing on the mobile ao3 website to be quite difficult. 
> 
> 2\. i hope everyone is staying safe and healthy right now! let's all take care of each other in any way we can (make the right choices, and take steps to be proactive by looking out for others). i really wish you all the best!
> 
> 3\. i hope this is obvious enough, but just in case it is not, whatever words are in bold are taehyun's text messages and the italicized ones are yeonjun's! cool. 
> 
> the prompts that inspired today's fics are: one of them has a cold, buying flowers for one another.

_hyun_  
_could you do me a favor?_

  
**yeah, of course.**  
**what is it, jun?**

_please get me some soup on your way home. :(_  
_i just checked the cupboards and i think we ran out._

  
**sure, no problem.**  
**are you okay, love?**

  
_i came down with something this morning._  
_it was fine at first, but now my head kind of hurts._  
_and my throat is sore from all the coughing._ :/

  
**my protective instincts have been activated.**

  
_nooooo~_  
_thankfully, it’s not too serious though hyun!_  
_i swear i’m okay, just a little drowsy._  
_they think it's a cold, maybe the flu._  
_my best bet is to sleep this off._

  
**i can come home if you want?**

  
_oh my gosh, no, you totally do not have to._  
_stay at your work! >:(_  
_be good, hyun._

  
**okay, sorry for leaving you hanging, i was just begging my manager to let me leave.**  
**and she said yes <3**  
**so i’m coming immediately!**  
**i'll be there with your favorite soup in the next thirty minutes.**

  
_taehyun, no._

  
**taehyun yes!**  
**i must make sure the loml is okay!!**

  
_...this is a new record for nicknames._  
_3 in one conversation?_  
_you really are worried <3_  
_okay, i know there’s no convincing you and you’re probably already driving by now so_  
_be safe!! love you._

—

taehyun considers himself to be a very rational person. he relies on logic in most situations, always trying to focus on solving the issue at hand rather than let his emotions overtake his reasoning. it’s something he prides himself on.

however, when yeonjun is sick, all of that logic goes flying right out of the window.

taehyun all but throws his apron down after his manager lets him go, rushing out the door as he says a quick goodbye to soobin, the host of the restaurant he works at.

“jun is sick,” is all the younger boy explains before the glass front door to said establishment is slamming shut behind him. lucky for taehyun, the spot he works at has a parking lot right across the street, so he’s in his car and driving away within two minutes of leaving his workplace. after a quick google maps search, taehyun is off to a nearby cafe that sells soups and salads, one that is in the direction of the apartment he shares with his boyfriend. taehyun reminds himself that they’re still out of cold and flu medicine as well— yeonjun had finished up the last of it during his last battle with a virus, which was almost two months ago, but they had both just forgotten to ever buy any more. the younger boy inwardly curses at himself for their lack of responsibility, but resolves to just stop at a pharmacy on his way home.

taehyun would also like to consider himself to be a patient individual, but by the way he’s twitching after a fifteen-minute wait in line at the pharmacy, he knows that he’s not— especially not when yeonjun’s soup was getting cold in the car.

**i’m sorry but the line at the pharmacy is super long today!**  
**i might be an extra ten minutes.**  
**i’m really trying to stay calm :)**  
**but i kind of feel like burning down the entire earth right about now.**  
**can these people HURRY UP, oh my gosh.**  
**WHY ARE THEY BUYING FIVE BOXES OF LUCKY CHARMS???**

  
_need i remind you of the fact that we bought four canisters of coffee at a CVS once?_  
_and please do not commit arson on my behalf, i can't have that on my conscience._  
_i will be here in ten minutes, i promise!_  
_unless i evaporate which isn’t completely out of the question tbh..._  
_i think i’m overheating? but i'm good, i swear._

  
**oh yes, i’m so much less worried now.**  
**thank you _so_ much yeonjun for easing my stress.**  
**and what do you mean by we??**  
**you mean YOU bought four tins of coffee mix once during final exam season.**  
**i played no role in that transaction besides driving you there.**  
**in all seriousness, i will be home as soon as i can be!**  
**hang in there, junie.**

  
**i'm FINALLY on my way!**  
**see you soon <3 **

  
_i'll be waiting!_

the bag containing the tiny plastic bottles of liquid medicine and tablets quickly gets thrown in the backseat as taehyun unlocks his car. if he speeds just the slightest bit on his drive home, no one has to know that.

—

“i can not believe you actually typed out an acronym— you said ’loml’— how romantic,” yeonjun jokes when taehyun unlocks the door to their studio apartment, which makes taehyun bark out a laugh as he attempts to successfully juggle all of the bags he’s carrying (the ones with the food and medicine, plus his own school bag).

“desperate times call for desperate measures. i knew it would make you smile,” the young redhead justifies, throwing his backpack to the ground as he shuffles towards where his boyfriend is lying in bed with all the stuff he had brought. “i got you stuff from this cute place that opened up right down the road, it’s called cosi. here’s your chicken noodle soup. i also got you a fruit cup and an apple, plus some peppermint tea because i know you like mint so much,” taehyun rushes out, not stopping for a breath as he starts unpacking all the stuff he had bought for yeonjun. the older boy, who has a folded washcloth resting on his forehead, just blinks owlishly up at his boyfriend from where he’s lying under a small mountain of blankets that found their way onto the bed.

taehyun winces at yeonjun's lack of a reaction, noting just how weary the older boy seemed. “sorry, i probably shouldn’t talk so fast. come here, let me feed you some soup.”

“i can feed myself,” yeonjun mumbles, but he pushes himself into a sitting position anyways, opening his mouth as taehyun holds a small spoon filled with some of the warm broth up to his lips.

“of course you can,” taehyun pats down a spot of yeonjun’s bed-ruffled hair that is stubbornly sticking up, in between feeding the older boy bits of the soup. “but today, i want to. i’m sorry you don’t feel well. you _really_ need to rest, junie, and i mean a full eight hours every single night.”

yeonjun raises an eyebrow, staring at his boyfriend with a “really?” expression plastered across his face.

“whether or not i follow my own advice is insignificant,” taehyun huffs. “will you promise me that you’ll go to bed early tonight? also, if you’re still not feeling well, there is no way that you're going to classes tomorrow, especially if you have a fever.”

“but—” yeonjun tries to protest, but is cut off by his boyfriend.

“no buts,” taehyun narrows his eyes. “come on, you really don’t want whatever you’ve caught to spread or worsen.”

yeonjun pouts. “you have a point, but i’ll miss important notes.”

“we’ll text the people in your classes that we know to get all the notes for you. it’ll be fine, i can probably even go to your professors and grab the work for you myself if you want me to. they'd probably be cool with that.”

“yes please,” yeonjun agrees quietly, mouth full of broth. “this is good soup.”

“i’m glad,” taehyun smiles, taking special note of just how clipped yeonjun’s phrases are, a clear indication of just how burnt out the usually boisterous and energetic boy was. they’re about halfway through their meal when yeonjun refuses to eat any more, something that worries taehyun immediately considering the older boy’s usually large appetite, but as he watches yeonjun sink into the mattress, taehyun realizes just how badly his boyfriend needs to sleep. luckily for them, yeonjun had already put on a set of comfortable clothes, so they wouldn't have to worry about getting him to change out of anything that he was wearing.

“wait, one more thing before you go to bed,” taehyun notes, reaching over to swipe at the medicine that he placed on the bedside table. “just a few spoonfuls of this, and then you can rest all you want, okay jun?”

yeonjun lets out a hum of approval, but his eyes are already slipping closed, so taehyun knows he has to act fast. he somehow gets the two spoonfuls of bubblegum-flavored liquid into yeonjun without making a mess, and the younger boy sighs as he looks at the pile of trash stacked up next to the bed: a half-empty soup cup, a handful of plastic wrappers, various utensils and a pile of napkins, grocery bags, etc. etc. he stands to start cleaning, but yeonjun pouts from where he’s laying down, an action that makes taehyun stop in his tracks.

“you’re not going to cuddle me?” the older boy asks, eyes wide.

it takes every ounce of taehyun’s willpower for him not to cave— yeonjun was notoriously cute, but when he was this soft, he was mathematically, scientifically, and statistically irresistible. still, taehyun has a lot of experience, so he places a soft kiss on the tip of yeonjun’s nose and promises to be back in five minutes. the younger boy speeds around the kitchen area of their apartment, putting the leftover soup away, taking out the trash, tucking away the extra shopping bags in a cupboard for later use, and placing the new containers of medicine on the counter so that yeonjun would have easy access to them if he so happened to need them while taehyun was asleep or outside. after throwing on a pair of flannel pajama pants and a thin black t-shirt, taehyun is quietly climbing into bed beside yeonjun, who swiftly rolls over to cling onto taehyun.

“i don’t want you to get a cold,” yeonjun mutters. “but i also want you to be here with me.”

“what about this— i'll hold you,” taehyun smiles, opening his arms. “i've been keeping up with my airborne supplements; i should be okay. come here. we'll take a nap,” the younger boy claims as he glances at the clock, which reads 5:23 PM. “but i have to be up by eight to finish my homework.”

“fine by me,” yeonjun settles back into taehyun’s hold as the younger boy is busy setting an alarm on his phone with his free hand. once finished, taehyun quickly places his phone back onto the nightstand for charging.

“do you feel a little better?” taehyun whispers, careful to not move too much and risk jostling the older boy.

“meh,” is the only noise that yeonjun lets out for a moment. “honestly, i was a little cold, but you’re making it much better,” he replies, snuggling in closer. yeonjun is still sure to keep a slight bit of distance from the younger boy, turning his head away so that he's looking at the floor rather than straight at his boyfriend. “that medicine tasted terrible though.”

“they only had bubblegum, i’m sorry,” taehyun notes, giggling softly. the vibrations from his giggles echo through yeonjun’s entire body from where the older boy is laying his head against taehyun’s chest.

“it’s ok. next time, we’re stocking up on the cherry kind.”

“noted," taehyun says, pressing a kiss to the crown of yeonjun's head. "we should probably have more soup lying around too.”

“maybe,” yeonjun agrees. “we’re not good adults.”

“we’re barely adults.”

“i’m an adult,” yeonjun protests. “i’m older than you.”

“but you’re as sweet as a baby,” taehyun coos, repeating his previous action but letting his lips linger on yeonjun’s forehead this time. “especially when you’re sleepy.”

“i'm always tired, but if you want me like this more often, all you have to do is catch me after a physics lecture and you can watch my insides actually turn to goo,” yeonjun quips. his breathing is turning a little calmer, so taehyun knows he’s halfway to falling asleep.

“you poor thing, physics is the worst. now, no more talking, sh,” taehyun tries to quiet them both down. “you need to fall asleep. we’re taking a nap.”

“fine by me,” yeonjun mumbles. “g’night, hyun. love you,” the older boy mutters, voice muffled from the fact that his face is right up against a blanket that is covering the both of them.

“goodnight, jun. sleep well, i love you too.”

—

while yeonjun sleeps right through every single one of taehyun's alarms that went off between the time they fell asleep that night (5:30 PM) and early the next morning (8:00 AM), the younger boy is awoken twice. once to finish up his schoolwork, and once the next day to get ready for class and his subsequent shift at the restaurant (to make up for his early departure the previous day) upon his dismissal from said college lectures. despite the younger boy’s wish to, yeonjun wouldn’t allow taehyun to stay home with him for another day, insisting that he was fine and that taehyun really could not afford to get sick on their behalf (figuratively and literally. rent was expensive in boston). a moping taehyun leaves reluctantly, but sends hourly texts to yeonjun to check in on the older boy in between his classes and stints at work.

yeonjun takes another long nap that next day, so he’s freshly awake and still slightly bleary with exhaustion when taehyun finally arrives back at their place. in accordance with his usual tradition, taehyun brings a bouquet of flowers with him upon his return that evening. the younger boy patiently explains the meaning of each flower to yeonjun— white carnations (symbolizing pure romance and good luck), blue salvia (‘thinking of you’), morning glory (which stand for affection), and white jasmine (meaning 'sweet and lovely')— before grabbing a vase out of one of their cabinets and filling it with water so that the flowers could have a new home of their own.

yeonjun makes grabby hands for taehyun after the younger boy finishes placing the vase down on their tiny circular dining room table.

"no fever?" are the first words that come out of taehyun's mouth.

the older boy shakes his head. "nope, not since last night. today wasn't nearly as bad; my cough is almost completely gone."

"good," taehyun replies, easily complying with yeonjun's wishes after he gets the answer he was looking for. the younger boy slips underneath the duvet covering their mattress, despite still having jeans and a polo on.

“i like the white jasmine,” yeonjun notes, taking a glance at the vase from across the room before he’s turning back over so that he can face his boyfriend. “they’re pretty.”

“that’s a new favorite,” taehyun smiles. “i'm glad that you like them.”

“we have too many plants in this house,” the older boy laughs quietly. “what are we going to do if we keep buying them at this rate?”

“fill this apartment to the brim with flowers,” taehyun deadpans, eyes serious until the corner of his lips twitch up in amusement. “i think they add a nice touch. they’re our best piece of decor.”

“don’t let hyuka hear you say that. he thinks it’s the molang plushie that claims our hanging chair.”

“well, tell him to look closer, because the most beautiful thing in this apartment is the flower right next to me.”

“the flowers are across the room, taehyun.”

“oh you know what i mean, you asshole,” taehyun laughs. “do you want me to spell it out for you?”

“yes. feed my ego. i’ve been weakened and desperately need it,” yeonjun cracks an eye open, grinning up at his boyfriend.

“you’re my pretty little flower, and i’m totally kissing you for real when you get fully better, but for now, i’ll settle for this,” taehyun replies, gently pressing his lips to yeonjun’s cheek. “oh, wait— petal. that’s your new nickname: petal.”

“oh my god—”

“no raising your voice, petal.”

“i ran myself into that hole, didn’t i?” yeonjun pretends to frown, but his eyes are still shining with joy, so he’s sure he doesn’t look nearly as appalled as he wishes he could pretend to be.

“you sure did,” taehyun smiles. “don’t worry though, i’m sure i’ll come up with something even better next week.”

“wow, i can’t wait,” yeonjun comments dryly. “i have a mountain of work that i should be catching up on, don’t i?”

“yep. it's all in my bag.”

“are we going to take a power nap instead?”

“yep,” taehyun repeats. “i’ll wake you up around six and order in dinner then so we can work while we wait for the food. it'll be great motivation and all.”

“bribing me with food? smart.”

“well, i see that you’re a little more feisty today. you're really feeling better?”

“always, when i’m with you,” yeonjun smiles, pulling taehyun closer. “now, sleep,” the older boy is the one shushing his boyfriend before they take their nap that day— a position they find themselves in most days, being working students and all. eventually, the soft sound of each other’s breathing manages to soothe a large chunk of their stresses. they both fall into a peaceful haze that eventually dips into the territory of sleep, but the two boys still remain entangled with one another even as they begin to slowly wake up hours later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hopefully you enjoyed this one-shot! take care and be kind to yourselves, alright? eat well, take your vitamins, drink lots of water, and do things that make you feel good (both physically and mentally). i wish you all nothing but happiness.
> 
> lots of love. thanks for the support, your kudos and comments mean more than you will ever know.
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/decalcomoniaa)


	6. day six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> today's prompts are: baking, wearing each other's clothes.

remind yeonjun to never bake a birthday cake a mere three hours before he has to be at said birthday party, because boy is it a complete hassle. yeonjun wasn’t much of a baker, he more so specialized in cooking, but he promised beomgyu that he’d bake the cake for kai’s birthday, and he wasn’t about to go back on his word. still, since he only has a few hours before the event— which he still has to get ready for— yeonjun settles on making something rather simple: a classic, two-tiered chocolate cake (he didn’t want to risk making the cake any taller and accidentally toppling it over, which would be a real possibility if he was to do so). he decides that making homemade frosting doesn’t seem too hard, and he can’t really afford the thirty-plus minute trip to the grocery store after the traffic of his city has been factored in, so he’ll whip up a batch of the vanilla concoction, add some garnishes on the top, and voila. that would be kai’s cake.

it’s a much simpler task in theory, yeonjun decides as he busies himself with mixing the batter, using a white rubber spatula. whisking the batter to perfection took some serious arm strength, and after going to the gym late last night, yeonjun lacked exactly that. so when taehyun stumbles into the kitchen halfway through yeonjun’s baking quest, the older boy lights up like a christmas tree (even more so when yeonjun realizes that his boyfriend is wearing his clothes— a light blue oversized t-shirt that fit the smaller boy much like a dress, but taehyun found the fabric to be so incredibly comfortable that he eagerly stole this particular article of clothing every chance he got).

“hyun! i have a job for you!” he exclaims, running over to tug at his boyfriend’s hand. “oh, nice shirt by the way,” yeonjun smirks, bringing taehyun around the bend of the kitchen island to where he had set up his work station.

taehyun’s cheeks tinge just the slightest bit pink in color at the sudden compliment, but the younger boy complies easily, wordlessly following yeonjun around the room. he’s still rubbing at his eyes blearily as he attempts to wake himself up— the clock had just struck ten, and taehyun had joined yeonjun on his trip to the gym at an egregious three o’clock that same saturday morning— when yeonjun pipes up with his next question.

“you were doing your leg day yesterday, right?” the older boy attempts to confirm, and when a sleepy taehyun nods, yeonjun just grins wider. “okay, then you’re perfect. since your arms aren’t sore, you get to mix this bowl of batter for me!”

taehyun jumps, startled by the stainless steel bowl being thrust into his hands by his boyfriend. the younger boy narrows his eyes at the lumpy brown mixture staring back at him. “i feel like i’ve been set up.”

“oh, you have been. but my arms hurt! you have to help me, taehyunie~” yeonjun all but begs.

taehyun rolls his eyes. “i don’t think i have much of a choice. you’re lucky you’re so cute.”

“love you—” yeonjun shouts over his shoulder, disappearing into the pantry before exiting the white vinyl bi-fold door with a tiny canister of chocolate sprinkles. he peers over at the bowl that taehyun is fervently mixing from where he’s seated on the stool, and the older boy’s eyes are instantly widening at how much smoother the batter looks already. “damn, you did that fast—”

“arm strength,” taehyun jokes. the shorter brunette looks pointedly at yeonjun, who quickly moves a hand to his chest and gasps.

“you don’t think i’m strong?” yeonjun asks, voice full of mock offense.

“you said it, not me,” taehyun notes. “plus, i'm calling your bluff. you’re smiling, which definitely means that you agree.”

“i am not smiling!”

“are too,” taehyun insists. “the corners of your mouth are quirking up and you’re biting at your bottom lip.”

“observant much?”

“always,” the younger boy winks, before letting out a huff. “i feel like i’ve been mixing forever. is this good?” he asks, tipping the bowl forwards so that yeonjun can get a better look. after a quick once over, yeonjun clears the batter for the next step: pouring it into the cake pans, which he had placed on top of the oven earlier.

“you’re officially my helper now,” yeonjun grins as taehyun moves to fill the pans. “it’s in the boyfriend code, you have to assist when i’m in a pinch—”

“there is no such thing,” taehyun shoots him down.

“okay, the boyfriend contract says—”

“i didn’t sign any contract.”

“the boyfriend laws—” yeonjun tries again.

“nope,” the shorter boy shakes his head. "wrong again." 

“i’ll pay you in kisses,” is what yeonjun settles on finally. “that good enough?”

taehyun is silent.

“kisses and hand holding? for the rest of the day until we have to leave for the party?” yeonjun attempts, his final shot, and the younger boy perks up immediately.

“well, why didn’t you just say so?” taehyun grins, continuing to pour the batter into the tins. “deal.”

“i feel like you had an agenda this entire time,” yeonjun scoffs. “but, since i’m desperate, i will uphold my end of the bargain.”

“you better, because we actually can not mess hyuka’s cake up.”

“no kidding,” yeonjun mutters. both of them were fully aware of how petrifying an angry beomgyu could be. “now, i have to play around with some of this fondant, so could you start cutting up a few strawberries when you’re finished with that? we still need to make the icing as well; i only started preheating the oven like two minutes ago, so it’ll be a while until we actually start baking.”

taehyun nods, reaching over the granite countertop to knab the plastic container of strawberries. he quickly finishes his current task by scooping up the remaining batter lining the mixing bowl so that he could deposit it into the cake pans, fully knowing that he would receive a brief scolding from yeonjun if he failed to collect every drop of the cake mix that he could. while taehyun begins to slice the strawberries in half, yeonjun is rolling out a small slab of freshly dyed red fondant for the cake. taehyun finishes his two jobs first, which is to be expected considering they’re the more simple tasks out of the three at hand. yeonjun is still playing around with the fondant when the oven beeps, so taehyun quickly maneuvers the pans into the oven and sets the first timer for when they will check on the cakes. upon doing that, taehyun finds himself empty-handed and without something to do, so he decides to organize their mess of a countertop which is overflowing with ingredients. taehyun tsk’s quietly at such a sight, beginning to put everything back in its rightful place, when he notices something that piques his interest.

“what’s this doing out?” taehyun questions, picking up a can of whipped cream that yeonjun had placed precariously on top of a random loaf of bread that was sitting out on their countertop. “is this for the cake? should i keep it out?”

“oh, no, i just had to take that out to get the eggs out of the fridge! you can put it back inside, i completely forgot about it to be honest,” yeonjun answers, glancing at the oven timer which has around forty minutes left on it.

taehyun doesn’t put the whipped cream away though. instead, the younger boy merely shoves the bread and some of the other ingredients strewn around the counter back into the fridge where they belong. when he finishes with that, taehyun takes off the cap from the whipped cream can and grabs an uncut strawberry that’s also sitting on the cutting board. jumping up so that he can sit on the countertop, taehyun puts some of the whipped dessert on top of the berry before eating it.

yeonjun looks up from where he’s molding numbers— hyuka’s age— out of the fondant material. “hey, i want one too,” yeonjun whines softly, dropping his work to move closer to his boyfriend. when they’re within arms of reach of one another, the older boy swiftly presses a kiss to the junction between taehyun’s neck and shoulder. he easily wraps his arms around taehyun’s waist from behind the younger boy.

taehyun immediately takes top off of the whipped cream again, ready to grant yeonjun’s wish, but the expression on the shorter boy’s face quickly turns mischievous. before yeonjun can question the motives of said younger boy, taehyun is spraying a tiny bit of whipped cream onto yeonjun’s nose from where he’s standing, only a few inches away.

yeonjun gapes for a few seconds, a time in which some of the whipped cream slides off his nose and plops onto his shirt, while the remaining bit merely melts after making contact with the hot surface of the older boy’s skin. taehyun looks slightly remorseful when he notices that the cream had dropped onto yeonjun’s blouse, but when yeonjun manages to quickly wipe it off without leaving a stain, the young brunette allows himself to be smug, smirking up at his boyfriend.

“you’re so dead,” yeonjun remarks and taehyun scurries off in a flash, running to the other side of their central island. yeonjun takes off after him, but his response time is too late. thanks to the younger boy’s maneuvering, taehyun manages to position himself such that he is always standing in the exact opposite position as yeonjun.

“get back here,” yeonjun all but glares at his boyfriend, who merely blinks with those wide eyes of his, looking like a real-life representation of innocence’s textbook definition. the telltale curve to taehyun’s lips say otherwise though— the younger boy is clearly enjoying yeonjun’s frustration. every time yeonjun makes a dash for it, so does taehyun, who remains out of yeonjun’s reach until the older of the two boys makes a split-second decision to jump over the island. after doing so, he lands right next to the spot where taehyun is standing.

a startled taehyun tries to skitter awat and escape yeonjun’s grasp, but the blue-haired boy takes a firm hold of taehyun’s t-shirt (which is technically his own) and pulls his boyfriend flush against him.

“mercy?” taehyun asks as yeonjun tightens his grip around the younger boy’s wrists so that he can’t escape.

“absolutely not,” yeonjun replies before taehyun pouts.

“no.”

the pout deepens.

“my final answer is no.”

taehyun gently kisses the tip of yeonjun’s nose. the older boy is now the one who goes silent.

another kiss.

“you’re frosting the cake,” is what yeonjun settles on, looking pointedly at the bowl of vanilla icing that taehyun had worked on creating. “and putting on all of the finishing touches— well, besides the fondant. i’m not letting anyone else touch that.”

taehyun smiles. “what a sweetheart, you are, letting me off easy and all.”

“don’t test your luck,” yeonjun grits out. “i would threaten to take away some of your kisses, but—”

“it’ll punish you as much as it punishes me!” the younger boy smiles brightly.

“i hate you.”

“no you don’t.”

“yes i d—” taehyun raises an eyebrow, making yeonjun whine. “come on, stop looking at me like that! at least pretend to believe me.”

“ah yes, i’m so sorry,” the younger boy apologizes, bringing his hand down in an attempt to compose himself before his eyes snap back open. “wow, choi yeonjun totally hates me. i don’t know what i could possibly do to make it better,” taehyun says in the most monotone voice he could muster up.

“i really, really d-”

“love you?” taehyun grins, but yeonjun just narrows his eyes at the younger boy.

“wow, what a tough crowd,” taehyun snorts. “okay, i’m going to put this can of whipped cream away.”

“good. don’t try anything,” yeonjun warns, to which taehyun sticks out his tongue before placing the whipped cream back in its spot on the fridge door. according to the microwave, there’s twenty minutes left on the timer, much of which taehyun spends watching as yeonjun tries to mold the fondant into the proper shapes they need to write out kai’s age. he had already finished making the prized centerpiece of the birthday cake— a tiny molang decoration that was created out of white fondant— but forming non-lopsided numbers was strangely causing the blue-haired boy the most trouble out of any of his jobs. yeonjun steps back from his work when the timer hits three minutes to go, not completely satisfied with how his creations looked but knowing that he probably wouldn’t get much better than what he already had.

“i can’t afford to mess this up,” the older boy groans. taehyun pats his hair sympathetically.

“it looks good, jun. come on, you have five minutes to relax and not think about this cake,” the younger reassures, taking a glance around their fairly clean kitchen.

“all i can think about is this cake though.”

“well, i’ll give you something different to think about,” the younger boy resolves, conviction in his voice.

yeonjun slowly lifts his head up from where it was laying on the countertop, looking at his boyfriend with a questioning expression.

“i was owed kisses. i’m taking them now,” is what taehyun says as a form of explanation. yeonjun breaks out into a grin— he did want to get his mind off the many ways that he could screw up this cake, and this was the perfect solution for the time being.

“see, i think that’s the best idea you’ve had all day.”

“i’m a genius, what can i say?” the younger boy quips, resting one of his hands on yeonjun’s bicep, the other quickly moving up to cup yeonjun’s cheek. yeonjun lets his hands fall around taehyun’s waist, cinching in the fabric of his own blue t-shirt around the smaller boy’s lithe frame, who quickly himself pushes up on his toes to reach yeonjun’s lips, capturing them in a searing kiss.

taehyun still tastes like whipped cream and strawberries, yeonjun realizes, a fact that makes him laugh just the tiniest bit. he feels taehyun’s lips immediately curving up as well, smiling into the kiss.

they part when the timer starts blaring, signaling that it’s time to remove the two pans of chocolate cake from the oven.

“into battle we go,” taehyun jokes, but yeonjun just links their pinkies as a silent form of encouragement and comfort before they both move to the oven, each procuring one pan of cake from said appliance. besides the “1” that yeonjun made out of fondant snapping clean in two, there are few serious mishaps that occur. yeonjun sends a final picture of the cake to beomgyu; the two-tier cake has one single layer of vanilla icing, and chocolate sprinkles are covering one half of the cake while strawberries lay surround the other. on the very top, numbers made out of red fondant read out “18” for kai’s age, right next a tiny, cartoon bunny figurine that’s placed up there as well.

 _not too shabby,_ comes beomgyu’s reply.  
_taehyun definitely helped you, though._

taehyun erupts into giggles when reading that text from over yeonjun’s shoulder, who delivers a few choice words to his slightly younger friend through their messaging app.

“oh come on jun, like you said, i’m your sous chef.”

“you’ve done nothing to earn that position; all you did today was attack me,” yeonjun snipes back.

“oh?” taehyun raises a brow. “well maybe i could change your mind. prove my worth with a kiss, if you will.”

“i’m listening,” yeonjun smiles, an expression that the younger boy quickly matches. they were so, so hopelessly gone on one another.

taehyun easily slots his lips against yeonjun’s from where he’s sitting on top of the counter, now being at an even level with the older boy because of his position. when they break apart, yeonjun just grins a little brighter.

“okay, i guess you do qualify.”

“i better,” taehyun nudges his boyfriend’s chest. “you’re kind of stuck with me, especially after we made this cake together. it’s our baby.”

“i think it bonds us together for the rest of our lives,” yeonjun comments. “is that how baking works? maybe we should give kai our thanks for helping bring us even closer.”

“oh yes, let’s thank hyuka for having a birthday, because that’s normal,” taehyun snarks, but the look in his eyes is oh so fond. “i think we make a great team.”

“don’t jinx it,” yeonjun warns, but upon sparing the cake a second glance, he quickly agrees.

“yeah, we do,” the older boy admits.

“well, your birthday is up next,” taehyun prompts, finally pushing himself off of the counter. he begins to exit the kitchen, heading upstairs to go get ready for the rapidly approaching party. “you’ll just have to wait and see what i have up my sleeve for your cake,” the younger boy teases, levelling yeonjun with a wink before leaving the room in a flash.

gosh, kang taehyun was really something, yeonjun thinks to himself as he’s gathering up the scraps of red and white fondant from the spot on the island where he was working with said ingredient. out of the corner of his eye, the older boy spots a piece of the red material on the leftmost corner of the counter, something that makes yeonjun raise an eyebrow. upon further inspection, he realizes that it’s a tiny, red fondant heart that taehyun must have made at some point in time (yeonjun figures it was when he was working, too focused on properly forming the numbers to see what his boyfriend was doing) and left for the blue-haired boy to see.

yeah, yeonjun grins as he daintily picks up the heart between his forefinger and thumb, kang taehyun was definitely something

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just wanted to write about taejun baking a cake (ft. like one mention of beomkai) because i thought it'd be cute. that's it, that's literally my entire explanation behind this drabble. sorry if it's not that good— i've been having quite a wild week but i enjoyed writing this a lot. okay, moving on now!
> 
> ah, it's so strange to think that i only have to upload a single one-shot after this to complete this collection of fics. we're in the home stretch! <3 i've really enjoyed writing these. thank you for all the love and support!
> 
> take care of yourself! make sure to allow yourself some time to relax each day, you deserve it. talk to all you soon!
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/decalcomoniaa)


	7. day seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> today's prompts are: barista/cafe!

if there’s something that yeonjun is eternally grateful for, it’s the new cafe that opens up right across the street from the building in which his afternoon psychology class is held. yeonjun has one morning class, which ends at ten-thirty, but he doesn’t have to step foot into nightingale hall for psych until one o’clock. however, late august brings sweltering weather to the northeast, and yeonjun can only justify making the lengthy trek back to his dorm for a nap on rare occasions. otherwise, the blue-haired boy figures that he should finish up some of his pending work while waiting for his next class, while simultaneously trying to avoid the nearly unbearable heat (which promptly crosses the various lawns sprawled around campus off of his list as a place for him to hang out. sure, they were nice in the fall, but yeonjun was determined to escape from the sun’s wrath during these final weeks of summer). so, despite the fact that he really does not need any more coffee in his system, yeonjun walks into the new cafe with the intention of spending his two hour break there.

as yeonjun opens the glass door, he realizes that the place is pumping air conditioning through all the vents, and he sighs in bliss as the cool air hits his skin. the five person line isn’t too long considering that it’s still monday morning— the worst part of any student’s week— and everyone is itching for a caffeine fix. yeonjun takes a glance at the menu but quickly decides on his regular order of an americano, figuring that it was close to impossible to mess up, so he would most likely be satisfied with his drink no matter what. when the group of three students standing in front of yeonjun eventually clear out after finishing their orders, yeonjun spots a familiar face manning the register. the silver-haired boy behind the counter also lights up with some sort of recognition.

“hey! welcome to radiance tea and coffee. you’re yeonjun, right? i think we have econ together.”

“oh, yeah— i am. sorry, i don’t know your name though,” the older boy smiles apologetically. “it’s uh..?”

“beomgyu.”

“it’s nice to meet you,” yeonjun runs his hand through his blue hair, a habit of his when he’s nervous. “could i just get a medium americano?”

the shorter boy nods, tapping away at the screen in front of him before quickly informing yeonjun of the price. after yeonjun pays, beomgyu hands him a small square device— an electric table locator. the silver-haired cashier points yeonjun towards one of the empty booths to the right of the kitchen area. “you can sit over there, and we’ll bring you the drink. enjoy!” beomgyu gives yeonjun a blinding smile, which the older boy tries to reciprocate as he walks away. yeonjun sighs in relief when he finally throws his school bag off of his back and onto the bench, scooting into the booth right next to it. he unloads a few notebooks and folders from said bookbag until he eventually can slide his laptop right out, opening it up so that he can begin his math assignment (calculus would very much be the death of him. chegg was single-handedly keeping the blue-haired boy’s grades afloat in that class. yeonjun wasn’t one of those people who complained about not using the things you learn about in school throughout your daily life— he understood he point of acquiring a solid work ethic— but good lord, volume of solids of revolution problems were literal hell on earth). as yeonjun is pulling up the online problem sets that he has to do, someone approaches him from the side, shuffling in closer to the blue-haired boy.

“hi, i have your drink,” the person greets, making yeonjun take out his in-ear headphones for a brief moment. as he turns to see who is standing next to him, yeonjun comes face to face with a boy with big, bright eyes and a head of red— whoa, really red— hair.

yeonjun drops one of his earphones from where he’s holding it between his thumb and forefinger, but since the headphones are hovering mere inches above his lap, the redhead barista doesn’t take notice of such a blunder. yeonjun still wonders if the other boy can see the blush spreading across his cheeks though.

“oh, thank you,” yeonjun snaps back to reality, quickly pushing his laptop and the various pieces of loose leaf paper he has strewn around to one side of the table. “sorry, i just need to make space.”

“don’t worry about it. school sucks,” the other boy replies, taking the plate that yeonjun’s americano cup is resting on and moving it off of his tray. “i see that you’re on our school’s homework website,” the boy notes immediately after his first statement as a form of explanation. “but good luck! enjoy!” the redhead offers yeonjun a kind smile before turning around, whisking off with his tray of other drinks and pastries to deliver to a plethora of other waiting patrons.

the blue-haired boy reminds himself that the little grin the waiter gave him was merely a customer service smile, and nothing more, as he adjusts his coffee cup on the table so that it’s at the perfect distance for him to grab in between problems. yeonjun attempts to not to think about it too much, and he definitely tries his hardest to not steal glances at the redhead while the other boy is waltzing across the floor of the cafe, hurriedly handing out orders with a short, curt bow before racing back behind the counter.

considering yeonjun’s decision to buy a coffee at eleven in the morning— which is his second cup of the day, even though he’s only been up for around three hours at that point— the older boy can freely admit that he doesn’t have much self control. so despite his better judgement, he does gaze at the lithe redhead here and there. he’s strikingly beautiful, yeonjun realizes the more that he looks. his build is athletic, as the boy simultaneously looks thin but strong. his legs seem to go on for days, yeonjun realizes as he studies the red-haired boy’s outfit. unlike beomgyu, who was wearing a long yellow apron that stretched from his collarbones to his knees, the redhead waiter donned a black denim waist apron, which started at his hips and ended halfway down his thigh. the boy was also wearing a tucked-in cream colored polo and a pair of slim black pants that tapered off right above his ankle.

call yeonjun a sucker for a boy in uniform, but the blue-haired boy found the waiter incredibly attractive. he was one of— if not the— prettiest boy that yeonjun had ever seen, especially considering how good he looked with such a bold hair color. yeonjun had always wanted to dye his hair red, but figured he wouldn’t pull it off well. however, the waiter’s bright, cherry colored hair was a lovely compliment to his glowy, sun-kissed skin.

an angel, yeonjun decides when he begins to pack up his things— the boy had to be an angel or a higher power of some sort, because no one looked that good just carrying coffee around. somehow, the waiter seemed to just get better looking in the thirteen times (yes, yeonjun counted) that the blue-haired boy watched him come out to deliver orders.

yeonjun reluctantly leaves the cafe when the clock above his table reads twelve fifty, but he knows that he can’t afford another tardy to this psychology class of his. however, the blue-haired boy thinks fondly of the next morning when he can go back to the cafe.

“it’s for the coffee,” yeonjun reminds himself. “and the workspace,” he continues as he walks up to the set of double doors that lead into the hallway that his class is in. yeonjun bites his lip as he grips the handle of the door.

well, maybe yeonjun was looking forward to seeing the red-haired barista again, but no one would have to know that except for himself.

—

during those first two weeks, yeonjun visits the cafe a grand total of six times (every monday, wednesday, and friday, all right before his psychology lecture). however, it’s not until his seventh visit that he learns the name of the redhead waiter, who often switched between manning the counter or looking over the cafe floor. on that trip, the waiter— taehyun— is wearing a nametag when yeonjun steps up to the cashier station, ready to order his americano.

“your regular?” taehyun asks, already moving to put it into the system.

yeonjun momentarily startles, but nods. “yeah, just uh— could i get it to go?”

“to go? will do,” taehyun taps something on the computer screen. “you’re not staying today?”

“ah no, i woke up late so i have to go the library and print something out,” yeonjun explains, even though he’s sure the shorter redhead could not care less. “i just need my coffee before i go.”

“i can’t believe you can actually drink this stuff,” taehyun laughs. “i probably shouldn’t say that since it could be bad for business, but i’ve seen you around here more than a handful of times lately, so i think it’s safe to say that i won’t be able to deter you from coming back.”

yeonjun doesn’t say that taehyun is part of the very reason he is eagerly returning to the cafe— instead, the blue-haired boy chooses to just smile and nod. “yep,” is the only syllable he can muster out, and the older boy internally cringes at how painfully awkward he feels like he is being.

taehyun waits while yeonjun swipes his card in the register, getting points deducted off of his meal plan for his purchase. “okay, you’re all set.”

“thank you. have a good day, taehyun,” yeonjun says, eyes flicking back down to the redhead’s nametag. taehyun’s eyes follow yeonjun’s movement.

“oh,” the shorter boy replies softly. “thank you, you too.”

yeonjun steps away from the counter, moving to a corner of the shop to wait for his name to be called. he plays a few rounds of tetris during the seven minute wait, and quickly gets wrapped up in his game, turning so focused that he doesn’t register anything else going on around him.

(it’s here that taehyun quickly realizes that he didn’t ask for the name of the blue-haired boy when taking his order, because his coworker runs up from the back to ask who exactly the medium americano is for.

“oh shit,” taehyun curses. “wait— just give it to me,” the redhead prompts, holding out his hand to receive the tall styrofoam cup and sharpie that the brunette girl is holding. taehyun curses himself for not being able to recall the boy’s name with one hundred percent certainty, and he definitely was not about to make a fool out of himself by spelling his name wrong. taehyun had overheard beomgyu calling the taller boy “yj” a few times, and contemplates writing that across the cup until he comes up with a better idea. before he can rethink his decision, taehyun is scribbling words on the side of the drink, tracing out the letters in thick black sharpie.)

when yeonjun’s order is finally called— but not his name— the blue-haired boy’s head still shoots up. a brunette girl hands him an americano in the standard to go cup, which yeonjun takes graciously. he doesn’t realize that there’s stuff written on it until he’s almost halfway down the block, turning the cup in his hands to take a sip. in doing that, yeonjun spots more than a few words of writing, and moves his hand off of that side of the cup to examine it further.

**_hi! our team forgot to ask for your name._ **  
**_hope you’re doing well, blueberry boy!_ **  
**_take care xx <3_ **

yeonjun stops dead in his tracks, right in the middle of the bustling sidewalk. he receives a few glares from some of his peers who are passing by, but yeonjun doesn’t pay much attention.

blueberry boy, huh.

the note keeps yeonjun smiling, all toothy and crinkly eyed, for the better part of an hour. soobin, who he meets up with in the library, teases him relentlessly once he reads the message on the cup himself.

“kisses, huh? i see that you have yourself an admirer.”

“no i don’t,” yeonjun protests, snatching back his coffee.

“well, you sure do seem smitten from how you were looking at the cup,” soobin points out. “so there has to be someone.”

“there’s no one.”

soobin laughs. “yeah, keep telling yourself that,” the slightly younger boy says, scribbling something down in his notes. yeonjun rolls his eyes but goes back to fussing with one of the old computers stationed in their university’s library, trying to figure out how to print out his file. kai arrives ten minutes later, rushing up to his two older friends.

“what’d i miss?” the youngest asks, ruffling both soobin and yeonjun’s hair. yeonjun gasps in response, trying to smoothen down his newly tousled locks.

“oh, yeonjun just has a crush and an admirer. they may or may not be the same person.”

“he has what—”

“i do not!” yeonjun protests, typing furiously on the keyboard as he tries to locate the article that he needs to get a hard copy of.

“oh, he totally does,” kai grins. “so, how are we going to butt in?”

“kai!” the blue-haired boy whines.

“what? it’s our job,” kai turns back to soobin. “where did yeonjun say he was going before this?”

“i don’t know, i wasn’t listening,” the tallest of the trio answers, very matter of fact. kai sighs.

“that wasn’t very helpful,” the youngest pouts.

“he was at the cafe,” a voice calls from their side. kai and yeonjun both jump into the air, but soobin peers curiously to the side, and locks eyes with the owner of said voice, who is sitting only a few computers away.

“how do you know?”

beomgyu grins, moving his rolling chair forward so that he’s sitting closer to the other three. “i work there; i know everything,” he answers nonchalantly.

kai is oddly silent upon the silver-haired boy’s intrusion to their conversation, but yeonjun tries to protest anyway. “you weren’t even there today!”

“oh, so you were at the cafe!” soobin almost screeches, tone gleeful at the fact that yeonjun is digging himself into a hole.

the older boy groans, turning back to his laptop. “i hate you all. especially you, beomgyu. i can not believe you were just sitting there the entire time.”

“that’s not what you were saying when i gave you my econ notes last friday!” beomgyu exclaims, giggling to himself. “i’m doing this for your own good, and for mine too.”

“what does that even mean—” yeonjun questions.

“i’ve said enough! it’s up to you to connect the dots!” beomgyu mimics zipping his lips shut, and turns around to roll back over to the computer he’s meant to be occupying. yeonjun thinks about reaching over to hit the silver-haired boy, but figures they’re too close to being just acquaintances for him to do that. the oldest of the four boys decides to instead land a solid smack to kai’s forearm.

the younger brunette cries out a “hey!” at yeonjun’s gesture, but the blue-haired boy figures that his friends deserve it, especially with the upcoming stunt that he knows they’re about to pull, so he mirrors the action with soobin.

“you guys better not do anything,” yeonjun tries to reason with his two younger friends, but he knows it’s a lost cause even before the words leave his mouth, especially when they give each other knowing looks.

—

as yeonjun suspected, both soobin and kai insist on accompanying yeonjun to the coffee shop that friday afternoon, despite yeonjun trying to convince them that they must have better things to do (“nothing is better than watching you humiliate yourself, jun,” soobin jokes, earning a sharp elbow to the side from yeonjun that has the younger boy slightly doubling over in pain). soobin and kai still make yeonjun go up to the counter and get their orders— bastards, yeonjun thinks to himself— but taehyun isn’t working the cashier that day (to both yeonjun’s relief and his disappointment. the blue-haired boy relaxes a little upon spotting the brunette girl from earlier, but he was looking forward to at least catching a glimpse of taehyun that day). upon returning to his seat, soobin and kai pester yeonjun for answers, but the older boy just shakes his head.

“he wasn’t there,” yeonjun states, picking up his pen as he begins to practice japanese characters for said foreign language class.

“he wasn’t?” kai questions, expression dimming when yeonjun shakes his head resolutely. “oh.”

“don’t worry too much,” yeonjun smiles. “on the bright side, now i don’t have to deal with any teasing.”

“yeah, so there’s no bright side for us,” soobin jokes.

“i bought you guys coffee! and i got kai a muffin!”

“wow, i feel like there’s some favoritism there.”

“well, maybe if you asked for one—” the older boys begin to bicker for several minutes, while kai’s eyes snap back and forth between the two like he’s watching a tennis match. kai is subsequently the first one to turn around when a figure approaches with their order.

“uh— sorry to interrupt.”

yeonjun whips around instantly upon hearing that voice. when the blue-haired boy’s eyes lock with taehyun’s, his face heats up. “oh! no, it’s okay. sorry.”

taehyun gives the older boy a small smile, setting their drinks and single muffin in front of the appropriate individuals after some brief questioning, and thus clears the tray that he’s holding. before the redhead turns to leave, he stops suddenly and sends a look over to yeonjun. “you haven’t been here for a few days. is everything okay?”

“yeah, i’ve just been tired,” yeonjun admits, which is just about half of the truth. while yeonjun did in fact go back to his dorm room and take a nap on wednesday morning rather than take his usual trip to the cafe, he mostly did so to thwart soobin and kai’s plan to tag along.

taehyun suddenly looks slightly embarrassed, gnawing at his lower lip. “cool, cool. i’ll see you around…” the redhead pauses, realizing that he still doesn’t really know the name of said blue-haired boy (he had been putting off asking beomgyu, not wanting to endure even more of the older boy’s ribbing. taehyun had an idea of what the boy’s name was, as he had glanced at order tickets here and there, but his job consisted of remembering table numbers, not names). taehyun almost caves and asks for his name as a final confirmation of sorts, something that would finally set his curiosity to rest, but with the boy’s friends sitting right there, he thinks better of it. taehyun quickly hurries away from the table where the three boys are sitting, and goes back to the counter where his coworkers immediately load up his tray with more orders.

meanwhile, soobin and kai take special note of how quiet yeonjun goes once the waiter leaves, with a distinctive red flush spreading across the oldest’s cheeks. they coo at yeonjun for a few moments, but kai, who is the only one of them who is sitting so that he is facing the cafe’s front counter, suddenly pauses. a grin is forming across the younger boy’s face, and yeonjun almost asks him what’s up, but kai begins to speak before yeonjun can do so.

“oh my gosh, he’s totally into you.”

“what? stop joking, kai,” yeonjun tries to brush it off.

“he’s unfortunately not joking,” soobin deadpans, glancing back over to the front of the shop. “strawberry boy was looking at you the entire time, i wouldn’t be surprised if he just keeps looking over here.”

“if he’s doing that, it’s probably because you keep looking over there!” yeonjun hits soobin on the arm. “please stop staring, i can not afford to be even more mortified than i already am.”

“come on, just admit that waiter boy must like you at least a little bit!” kai grins, sipping on his iced vanilla latte through a baby pink silicone straw.

“or maybe,” yeonjun draws out his words. “he’s just never seen me come in here with other people, so he’s curious.”

“but why would he be curious if— you know what, nevermind,” kai stops. “i can’t do this, you’re a lost cause jun. “kiss kiss” was literally written on the note. you talk some sense into him, soobin.”

“we don’t even know if the note is from him,” yeonjun reminds his two friends. that even gets soobin to roll his eyes.

“come on jun, there’s no one else it could be.”

“what about the girl who gave me my coffee? taehyun,” yeonjun lowers his voice to a quiet hush. “has taken my order before, so he would have a higher likelihood of knowing my name than her.”

“he could have just, oh i don’t know, forgotten it?” kai punctuates each part of his statement, but trails off towards the end in such a way that makes it sound like a question.

“i just don’t think it’s him,” yeonjun twiddles his thumbs right behind where he’s cupping his drink in his palms. “we’ve only spoken like four times, and it’s usually just him taking my order,” he stops. “gosh, he’s polite and so cute though. i think i’m doomed.”

“you’re lucky you’re pretty,” kai pets the oldest boy’s hair. “because you’re actually ridiculous. the person who wrote the note drew a heart and wrote x’s, as in kisses, so they’re clearly interested. they wished you a good day too, and then mr. cherry over here thought to specifically ask about how you were doing. he even noticed that you weren’t here on wednesday!”

“well, i do come here a lot—”

“yeah, and you come for him,” soobin interjects. “he seems to take note of your presence just as much as you look forward to his, so that’s at least a step.”

“unless there’s two people in this cafe who have taken a liking to you, it’s him. it makes sense that it would be him and you know it, jun. why won’t you let yourself at least have a little bit of belief?” kai asks, pursing his lips. the younger boy doesn’t sound critical (he rarely is), instead seeming just a little confused.

soobin glances at yeonjun. kai wasn’t around when the older two boys were freshman, but soobin and yeonjun had been roommates during their first year at university. consequently, soobin knew some things that the third member of their friend group did not— he remembered yeonjun’s run-ins with a couple of charming upperclassmen that year (they were people that almost rivalved the blue-haired boy himself when it came to flirting, which was certainly a feat). ultimately, they ended up a lot less interested in yeonjun than the blue-haired boy was in them. yeonjun had dated before, sure, but university was where he had his first (and second, and third) heartbreak. while yeonjun doesn’t regret jumping into the college dating scene as quickly as he did— the older boy recognizes just how much he’s grown from doing so, as he’s now definitely one to take things much more slowly than he previously did— his experiences did leave scars of sorts. taking an interest in someone is scary, and yeonjun barely knew taehyun; he had no idea of knowing if this crush was reciprocated in any way. but what yeonjun did know was the fact that being hopeful and stringing himself along for the long haul would be the kiss of death if taehyun’s attraction fell flat, which was a very likely possibility in the blue-haired boy’s mind. nope— his “pessimistic” viewpoint (that taehyun probably was not all that interested in him and that the redhead was not ‘note boy’) could not be proven wrong just yet, as any concrete evidence that supported the opposition was all but nonexistent to yeonjun.

yeonjun opens his mouth to verbalize said final point, but taehyun suddenly pops out from behind the counter to deliver a set of drinks to another couple and the older boy is immediately snapping his mouth shut once again. “not. a. word. nothing from the two of you,” he mutters, leveling his friends with a telltale look.

soobin and kai pout but comply with yeonjun’s wishes— they both know that provoking the older boy while taehyun was nearby would get them nowhere, only working to put the older boy on edge. yeonjun’s eyes are downcast while taehyun bustles around, as he tries to remain focused on the current page of homework that he’s working on. soobin is sipping at his drink (and stealing half of kai’s muffin, which the youngest pretends not to notice), but kai is watching taehyun intently as he finishes up his current task at hand. the redhead waiter’s head turns, almost instinctively, to where yeonjun is sitting. upon meeting kai’s gaze, the red-haired boy blushes, immediately looking away from the trio. in the next minute, taehyun all but runs back behind the swinging doors that lead to the workers’ private space. kai can’t help smirk at his observation, but right then— forty minutes before yeonjun’s class is supposed to start, a time when the three of them plan to hightail it out of there— beomgyu suddenly walks into the cafe for his shift. he looks at yeonjun’s table, giving the older boy a cheeky grin, before locking eyes with the two people sitting with the blue-haired boy.

kai chokes on his drink, so quietly that only soobin and yeonjun can hear, but yeonjun thinks he sees a flash of understanding in the silver-haired boy’s eyes at such a sight. beomgyu smiles a little wider before disappearing behind the same cafe doors that taehyun went through.

soobin lets out a snort. “well, now we have two cute barista boys to worry about, i guess.”

kai lays his head on top of his fists, which are resting on the table. “i did not just do that in front of him. please leave me to die.”

“oh, come on honey, it wasn’t that bad,” soobin pats the youngest boy’s shoulder sympathetically. all three of them were more than familiar with what it was like to flounder in front of a crush.

“yeah, beomgyu’s cool, and you’re totally his type. plus, he barely seemed to notice the liquid dribbling down your chin,” yeonjun pipes in. soobin glares at him, mouthing the phrase “not helping” over at the oldest, who puts his hands up in a mock defense of sorts.

“but he still did notice, didn’t he?” kai whines. “i’m doomed.”

“he’ll think it’s cute, kai,” yeonjun smiles. “beomgyu’s like that.”

“i can’t believe i’m now leading two operations,” soobin mutters under his breath. “first yeonjun, now you,” he nods towards the youngest boy at the table. “gosh, you’re both goners already.”

“i am not—” both yeonjun and kai start to protest in unison, but at soobin’s raised eyebrow, they quiet down with a sigh.

“that’s what i thought,” soobin smiles. “okay, so our main focus will be yeonjun and cherry boy, because there’s a lot there—”

“no. i mean, i wouldn’t mind if there was, but there isn’t ‘a lot’ there,” yeonjun points out, making air quotes at the younger boy’s choice of language. soobin ignores him, continuing on with his spiel.

“however, kai, we’ll be sure to help get you to the point where you can speak to beomgyu. maybe even in full sentences next time!”

“is this how you felt?” kai instantly turns in his chair to look yeonjun in the eyes. “if so, i am so sorry, because i want to punch soobin in the face right about now.”

“why don’t you?” yeonjun asks, narrowing his eyes at their tallest friend. soobin shuffles backwards in his seat, trying to put as much distance between him and the other two boys as possible just in case they tried anything.

“he’s still stronger than me,” the youngest admits. “but i’m starting to work out so watch your back,” kai hisses at soobin.

yeonjun snorts, and soobin promptly erupts into a fit of giggles.

“hey! i can be strong and scary!” kai insists, a petulant look on his face.

“yeah, and yeonjun doesn’t have a crush on taehyun,” soobin snorts, eliciting a gasp from the oldest boy. there are consistent peels of laughter coming from their corner of the cafe, ones taehyun and beomgyu can even hear from where they’re stationed at the coffee machines.

“you didn’t tell me yj had a good-looking friend, who he is apparently always with from what i’ve seen,” beomgyu says, nudging taehyun’s side with his elbow while simultaneously balancing a cup in his hands. “now you really have to make a move and get yj to keep coming back, because i need to see that cutie again.”

“i’m glad that you’re so supportive of me, gyu,” taehyun deadpans, tone rich with sarcasm. “i am so much more inclined to speak to him now that i know you have zero hidden motives to encourage me to do so. thank you so much for your sincerity.”

“what are friends for?” the silver-haired boy winks back, shuffling off with his freshly brewed cup of coffee.

—

yeonjun does continue to come in and stay at the coffee shop for a few hours on most days, but he also now decides to continue the tradition of taking his drink to go on wednesdays, in which he usually just ends up at the library. at first, he’s quite curious as to whether or not he’ll continue to find writing on his drink if it’s in a disposable container, and the author of the notes certainly doesn’t disappoint. that next week, yeonjun turns his cup over to find another message written on said drink, this time with a deep blue marker.

**_i hope you’re having the best week so far,_ **  
**_and if not, i hope it gets better! <3_ **  
**_take care._ **

the next week it’s much of the same.

**_hey, you look good today!_ **  
**_i hope you’re having a very happy wednesday._ **  
**_stay safe and make sure to look after yourself well!_ **  
**_thinking of you~_ **

yeonjun ends up keeping the cups in his room, wanting to save the messages that seem to brighten up his weeks. the blue-haired boy begins to actively look forward to wednesdays for this reason, and he acquires four cups with the weekly notes (all of which sit on his desk) by the time they start popping up more frequently, even when yeonjun decides to stay in the cafe. on those days, the notes are meticulously written out on napkins that the waiters place down with his coffee.

beomgyu gives him the first one, winking as he sets the piece of cloth down. “you have a message,” is all the silver-haired boy says as an explanation before he’s walking away, holding the tray of various other drinks that he has to deliver with two sturdy hands on either side of the large, red surface.

**_happy monday!_ **  
**_make sure to smile a lot today!_ **  
**_especially since yours is extra beautiful :)_ **

the notes, in soobin’s words, turn more and more straightforward as time goes by. yeonjun gathers them all for safekeeping in another pile, which this time exists on his nightstand of all places. sometimes, yeonjun shuffles through them when he’s feeling in need of some encouragement— a welcomed reminder of what awaits him for the rest of that week. knowing that if he pushed through, he could get another note, kept yeonjun going in some strange way. they’re a good read.

**_i like your shirt!_ **  
**_are you a twice fan too?_ **  
**_it looks pretty on you._ **  
**_everything looks pretty on you._ **

**_enjoy your coffee and your day gorgeous!_ **

**_you got this! sending my support your way._ **  
**_good luck with your exams this week <3_ **

**_you’re the bee’s knees._ **  
**_hope you like the honey ginger tea!_ **  
**_(i couldn’t help but notice that this is a new order for you! enjoy!)_ **

**_my world is a much better place_ **  
**_now that you’re a part of it._ **  
**_glad to see you today._ **

—

it takes the collection growing to eight drink cups and seven napkins for soobin to step in.

“we’re staging another intervention,” the younger boy informs yeonjun, throwing a hoodie at his blue-haired friend who is merely laying in bed. “get up, you’re coming with us to the cafe. note boy will surely be happy to see you.”

“but it’s saturday?” yeonjun replies, his voice questioning in nature. “i’m not sure if the person leaving the notes—”

“taehyun,” soobin corrects.

“the person leaving the notes,” yeonjun stresses. “i don’t even know if they work today.”

“well, no harm in trying to figure it out, right?” soobin asks, but his tone leaves no room for argument. yeonjun begrudgingly exits the comfort of his own bed, but as he gets dressed, he grows more excited at the prospect of receiving an extra message that day. they had become a clear serotonin boost for the older boy, especially after he had just dyed his hair from blue to a bright, almost highlighter esque yellow. on his first day back at the cafe, his note had read “take care, ex-blueberry boy. while i do miss the blue hair, this new look of yours is somehow even better! i’m already looking forward to seeing you and your lemon head around more often.” so sure, the note writer might not be on duty today, but yeonjun found himself more than willing to exert the energy necessary to walk to the cafe and take that risk.

kai is in their living room area, as always, so the three of them set off on the twenty five minute trek to the coffee shop in question. upon entering, the trio immediately resolve to never try such a stunt ever again considering the fact that there are a whopping thirteen people that are in front of them in line. a game of rock paper scissors settles the fact that kai will go up to order, and the youngest of the trio returns back within fifteen or so minutes with a dusting of bright red color covering the apples of his cheeks.

“oh my god,” is all the youngest says.

“oh my god,” kai repeats, laying his head down on top of his arms.

“oh my god,” the heap of limps that is huening kai says, voice perfectly even in an attempt to mask the internal chaos he’s experiencing.

“let me guess, beomgyu was at the register?” soobin asks, and kai groans.

“yes, and i forgot how to say the world vanilla. it’s now vamillo,” the youngest boy informs them, wincing at his own behavior.

“did you really—” yeonjun lets his jaw fall open, face contorting into an expression that is full of both amusement and sympathy.

“yes.”

“oh my god,” soobin says, trying (and failing) to muffle a chuckle. kai is too wrapped up in an internal bout of regret to give any attention to the fact that his friends are deriving some sick sense of glee from his misery.

“i’m going to lose my mind,” kai sulks from behind his arms, but his four minute pity party is quickly cut short when soobin hisses that beomgyu is rounding the corner.

“hi guys! i have your stuff. oh, and yeonjun, here’s your napkin of the day,” the silver-haired boy announces in a cheerful tone.

yeonjun would try to say that he wasn’t over eager, but he totally makes a grab for the thin sheets of paper-like material that said waiter is holding. beomgyu merely snickers at yeonjun’s actions, but the older boy is too busy reading the note to care.

**_your hair looks even better today (i didn’t know that was possible)!_ **  
**_it’s so bright, you’re like a little star with it._ **  
**_enjoy your weekend. try to be kind and gentle with yourself._ **  
**_you deserve it. the best is yet to come. xx_ **

“that’s so sweet. oh my gosh, yeonjun, you’re blushing so bad,” kai hums, a gummy smile spreading on his face as he takes in yeonjun’s expression. the youngest boy is glad that the attention has faded off of him.

“cute,” beomgyu suddenly mumbles under his breath, but judging by soobin and kai’s lack of a reaction, only yeonjun seems to hear the silver-haired boy’s comment, which causes his head to snap up. beomgyu then realizes what yeonjun has heard and gapes, but yeonjun just smirks and mouths the word “whipped” at his classmate slash new friend. beomgyu merely narrows his eyes.

“you’re on thin ice,” beomgyu mouths back.

“okay i don’t know why you guys are threatening one another, but stop it,” soobin commands. “gyu,” the tallest boy suddenly bats his eyelashes. “do you have any idea as to who is sending yeonjun these lovely notes?”

“i do but i have unfortunately been sworn to secrecy,” beomgyu pouts.

“boo, no fun,” kai mirrors beomgyu’s expression.

“i know, but don’t worry,” the silver-haired boy winks. “i’m sure something will happen soon.”

“and how can you be so sure?” yeonjun asks, immediately feeling on edge.

“well, for one, you’re quite infatuated with one little birdie—” beomgyu starts ticking points off with his fingers, as if he’s about to give a list. yeonjun instantly shuts him down.

“i’m going to set you on fire, gyu. try me.”

“please do not. i haven’t gotten to ask kai out yet,” beomgyu says with a smile. his voice is calm, a great contrast to kai, who literally freezes up in his seat at that. the youngest boy has gone as still as an ice statue, but his face is burning such a vivid red that it mirrors the color of a firetruck. yeonjun and soobin are both momentarily startled, but quickly switch to being endeared with the whole ordeal that is unfolding right in front of them.

“you’re— you’re serious?” kai balks.

“why wouldn’t i be?” beomgyu asks rhetorically. “but yeah, i’m serious. i like you, and my friends have been telling me to just come out and say it already, so, here i am.”

“i—” kai pauses. “can we go outside and talk? no offense,” he glances over at yeonjun and soobin, who pretend that they weren’t listening to no avail.

“of course. go ahead, kai,” soobin tells the younger boy before winking at beomgyu. the silver-haired boy waits for kai to stand up before walking out the front door of the cafe, with kai shyly trailing behind him.

“i can’t believe beomgyu did that,” soobin says once the two of them are out of earshot, leaning back in his chair.

“you can’t? do you not remember that day in the library?” yeonjun arches an eyebrow.

“okay, maybe i can. beomgyu seems like the impulsive type,” soobin laughs. “but i didn’t think it would happen today. maybe your note was right.”

“what do you mean?”

“well, it did say ‘the best is yet to come’, and well, look what happened to kai. note boy might be onto something,” soobin points out.

“maybe you’re right,” yeonjun trails off.

“maybe note boy will drop out of the sky and into your lap.”

“okay now, let’s not push it,” the oldest blonde narrows his eyes.

“excuse me for showing enthusiasm in your love life when i myself am painfully single,” soobin teases, a bunny-like smile on his face. “but seriously, listen to note boy. he’s smart and all, even though he likes you.”

yeonjun pouts, an action which makes soobin relent. “oh alright, he’s smart especially because he likes you. happy now?”

yeonjun smiles softly to himself. “do you think they really like me?”

“yeah, jun, i do.”

—

two weeks later, yeonjun and soobin are sitting at that exact same table to finish up a project they’re both working on for a gen-ed literature course of theirs. kai didn’t go with them that day— yeonjun surmises that he’s probably with beomgyu, considering the two boys had been attached at the hip ever since they started going on dates. yeonjun and soobin are both ecstatic for the younger boy, and were very happy to see him in such a good mood lately. everything seemed to be working out— well, except the project that the two older friends were trying to tackle. yeonjun has a marker cap in his mouth, furiously highlighting something on the guidelines for said assignment, when soobin suddenly pipes up from where he’s leaning against the back of the booth.

“can you get me another drink? some sort of tea, maybe? i have work after this and i want to have something then; i’m burnt out but i don’t need any more coffee,” soobin says, looking pointedly at the two large but empty cups that are sitting in front of them, both of which they had already finished.

yeonjun pushes himself up out of the chair he’s sitting in, nodding in affirmation. he’s the one out of his friends with the most expensive meal plan, meaning he gets the most ‘points’ in their school’s system. therefore, he often treats his friends to things, so he waves off soobin when the younger boy starts pulling off his wallet. “no, no, i’ll get it for you, soob. do you want it hot or iced?”

“iced, please,” soobin smiles. “thanks, jun.”

“no problem, just give me a second.”

yeonjun strolls up to the front of the bustling coffee shop, and to his delight, the line has decreased significantly in size from when they had entered; there’s now only four people waiting in front of him. when yeonjun peers up at the menu, trying to decide what flavor of green tea (which was soobin’s favorite type) to get his friend, he takes note of the boy at the cash register.

taehyun.

“ _shit, shit, shit,_ ” yeonjun’s brain blares. the redhead wasn’t manning the counter when him and soobin had first placed their orders earlier that day, so the older boy had assumed that would be the case now, but it evidently was not. taehyun was now standing a mere ten feet away, and there was only two people in front of yeonjun at this point, and shit.

yeonjun contemplates going back to the table and getting soobin to get his tea himself, but he would feel bad about doing so, and thus chooses to stick it out in line instead. it only takes another minute or so for taehyun to finish up with and promptly send off the customers standing in front of the older blonde. when he spots yeonjun standing right before him, taehyun immediately offers the taller boy a smile.

“hi yeonjun, it’s good to see you,” the redhead greets when the blonde boy approaches the counter— he had learned the yeonjun’s name only after he mustered up the courage to finally ask beomgyu under the guise that he just wanted to know the friends of who the silver-haired boy was dating. beomgyu pretends not to notice the fact that taehyun did not inquire so strongly about soobin’s name.

“hi,” yeonjun replies, slightly surprised by this sudden conversation. “likewise. i just need a medium iced green tea for soobin, please.”

taehyun taps at the screen, but speaks while doing so. “is kai here with you guys?”

yeonjun shakes his head. “nah, he’s out with a friend.”

“with beomgyu?” taehyun quirks a brow.

yeonjun is startled, but nods. “you know about them?” he asks.

“me and beomgyu are close— we’re flatmates, actually. but also, basically everyone who speaks to beomgyu more than three times a day knows by now. he’s quite the talker,” taehyun answers pleasantly, switching his attention from the monitor in front of him to the taller boy. yeonjun tries to ignore the pounding feeling in his chest at that.

“yeah, no kidding,” the older blonde remarks as he recalls some of the younger boy’s noisiest moments during these two weeks, but there’s a pleasant smile growing on his face nonetheless. “i’m happy for them though, they really deserve this.”

“it’s been a while in the making,” taehyun adds. “but i’m glad he finally did it, you know? like they all say, the best is yet to come.”

now it’s yeonjun’s turn to freeze. the older boy tells himself that he doesn’t want to— no, that he can’t assume, because he won’t let himself do such a thing and be stuck in a fit of disappointment— but the redhead is smiling so very wide that yeonjun thinks he would be a fool if he didn’t at least probe a little into what the smaller boy is implying.

“what— you?” yeonjun asks, as eloquent as ever.

taehyun gets the hint though, quickly fishing something out of the front pocket of his waist apron. “yeah, i have something for you,” he replies. “i was supposed to give it to you with your americano today, but you got here early.”

it’s a piece of folded up paper, yeonjun notes as he unwraps it. the page in itself is light yellow in color, but the ink of a blue pen covers the surface, where a few sentences are written in that all too familiar neat, circular lettering. it almost looks like a font of sorts— it’s insanely pretty handwriting. yeonjun finds it quite fitting; it makes sense that it belongs to taehyun.

**_hey, i think you’re really cute, if you couldn’t tell already from the fact that i’ve been flirting with you for weeks now. maybe you’d like to talk more or even go out sometime? if so, here’s my number: xxx-xxx-xxxx._ **

**_xo, kang taehyun aka redhead, cherry boy, strawberry boy, etc. (please tell your two giants of friends that they should create better nicknames for me because apple head is not cutting it)_ **

“it’s you—” yeonjun starts to say, but quickly cuts himself off because his mind feels like it just detonated. yeonjun can not bring himself to wrap his mind around the fact that the cute, cherry-haired boy who he had spent the last ten weeks swooning over was really the one who was writing the notes (despite all of the ‘i told you so’ energy that soobin and kai were surely emulating at this moment).

“yeah uh, i hope you liked the notes. i get that this one doesn’t make a lot of sense since i’m handing it to you but my plan kind of got ruined,” the shorter boy hurriedly explains. “it was supposed to be cuter than it was. still, i think the point stands.”

“i still have them,” yeonjun interjects. “i kept them, all of the notes. they’re all perfect,” he states, fiddling with the one he’s holding. “even this one. i still think it’s cute.”

“oh,” taehyun’s cheeks heat up. “that’s— that’s good to hear.”

“taehyun,” an older man comes up behind the cash register. “i hate to stop this talk and all, but you’re going to start holding up the line.”

“oh, i’m sorry,” taehyun tips his head in a gesture of apology and acknowledgment before turning back to yeonjun. “i have a ten minute break right about now if you want to talk more?”

a black-haired boy standing at the coffee machine closest to the counter turns around. “no, you don’t.”

“quiet,” taehyun shushes his coworker goodnaturedly, a shameless smile on his face. “i can make a ten minute break happen if you want to talk more.”

“yeah— yeah, i’d like that,” comes yeonjun’s honest response.

“okay, i’ll go make it and then we can get out of here for a few, maybe talk something out,” taehyun’s grin only seems to widen after the older boy agrees, as the redhead’s eyes crinkle at the corners as he all but skips off. taehyun ends up dragging the black-haired barista who interjected into their conversation to the register so that he could take over for him. yeonjun walks away in a daze of some sorts, eventually ending up back over to his table where soobin is sitting.

“i’m going to step away for a minute,” is all yeonjun informs the younger boy, who looks confused.

“what?”

“taehyun,” yeonjun holds out the refolded piece of paper. “he gave me this.”

“oh my god— seriously? he did that right now?”

“yeah,” yeonjun’s cheeks redden. “he wants to talk.”

“finally getting your shit together, i see,” the younger boy grins. “it’s about time.”

“well, i mean—” yeonjun tries to think of an explanation as to why this is all happening when it is, but can’t come up with anything. “i mean, finals are coming up soon? we might as well say our pieces before we all inevitably die at the hands of the school system.”

“wow, i forgot how dramatic you were. now turn around, your boyfriend is coming.”

“he’s not my—” yeonjun starts, but whips around when he feels a tap on his shoulder. taehyun is standing behind the bickering pair of friends, a plastic cup of tea in his hand that he quickly hands to soobin.

“here you go soobin, i hope you like it. yeonjun, do you want to—” taehyun trails off, motioning his head towards another corner of the cafe where there are a few empty chairs lined up.

“yeah, uh—” yeonjun turns back to soobin, who nods him off. “yeah, let’s go.”

taehyun takes the lead, climbing on top of a high-rise chair that’s part of a row of seating that is stationed right up against a tall countertop. it’s on the left hand side of the coffee shop, looking out towards a busy intersection. yeonjun jumps up next to the smaller boy.

“so, i know i’m not your boyfriend yet, but i was thinking we could maybe try to change that?” taehyun starts, a smile spreading across his face. “i’m wondering if you’re interested in going out with me sometime.”

“yeah, yeah i’d love to,” yeonjun affirms, his expression growing to mirror the one that taehyun is wearing. “you’re really note boy?”

“that’s what you’ve been calling me?” taehyun laughs. “i thought you knew.”

“no, i just figured that they were a friendly gesture from someone here at first, but then…” yeonjun pauses as the heat in his cheeks rises, recalling how the notes progressively got flirtier with time. “well, i didn’t know what to think really. my friends kept telling me that it was you but i didn’t want to make any concrete assumptions, especially because we haven’t talked too much before.”

“yeah, we haven’t. i saw you around a lot last year though, since we often went to the library at the same time, but i just couldn’t think of a way to say hi. i thought— well, still think— that you’re, like, stunning. so i was just the slightest bit intimidated.”

“you? of me?” yeonjun giggles. “i’m kind of a mess honestly, so i swear you have nothing to be afraid of. case in point, i don’t recall seeing you at the library, but maybe that’s because i never really looked around. i would have remembered such a bright head of hair otherwise.”

“no, my hair was actually brown then. a light brown— those were the days. the good days when my hair didn’t feel like straw,” the shorter boy chuckles. “but alas, i chose this.”

“you suit it really well though. i mean, i think this is natural, but your red hair was the first thing about you that really caught my attention.”

“is that why i’m called cherry boy?”

“you know about that?” yeonjun questions. “i mean, i know it was in the note but—”

“i do walk by your table pretty often, yeonjun, and i do have ears. i can hear things pretty well,” taehyun affirms.

“that doesn’t bode very well for me, does it?” yeonjun asks, closing his eyes for a moment as he tries to recall just how embarrassing he has been in the four walls of this coffee shop over the past few months.

“don’t worry, i thought it was cute,” taehyun smiles. “it’s always cool to have a pretty boy be interested in you. still, i didn’t know how to be forward about it without scaring you off, so i thought of the notes idea on that one day i forgot to ask you for your name and just ran with it.”

“they were so nice. i kept them because they helped cheer me up, so thank you for that. i always looked forward to receiving them,” yeonjun says sincerely.

“i’m always willing to give you more,” taehyun winks. “yeah, sorry i don’t have too long to be out here and talk but you know, work and all,” the redhead waves his hand vaguely in the direction of the kitchen.

“but,” taehyun continues, gnawing at his lip. “i’m just glad that you’d want to go out, like on a date and stuff. i’m really looking forward to it.”

“of course. i can text you, since it seems like you need to get back.”

“yeah, you have my number. i’ll see you around, jun— is it okay if i call you that?” taehyun questions, thumbing around with the silver ring on his index finger before glancing back up at the older boy. yeonjun realizes in that moment just how striking the redhead’s eyes are from up close; they’re quite wide and seem to sparkle under the lights. like everything else about taehyun, yeonjun found his eyes to be absolutely gorgeous.

“yeah, it’s fine,” yeonjun blushes at the nickname— it just sounded cute coming from the younger boy, and yeonjun didn’t know that it was possible for someone to make everything he did sound so endearing, but taehyun managed to continuously floor the blonde. “thanks again, taehyun. we’ll talk.”

“that we will,” taehyun smiles, pushing himself up out of the seat. he holds out his hand to yeonjun, guiding the older boy off of the chair. “take care.”

“you too, taehyun,” yeonjun nods his head, almost sheepishly, as the barista heads back behind the counter, waving as he goes. yeonjun heads in the opposite direction, towards the table where soobin is sitting, typing away on his phone. when he spots yeonjun returning, the younger boy quickly sets down whatever he was doing, turning to the blonde with eager eyes.

“so?” soobin breathes, a wide smile on his face. “anything you want to tell me?”

yeonjun smiles, sliding back into the booth. “i think i’m going to spend my afternoon scheduling a date.”

soobin cheers. “finally! oh gosh, i thought i was going to die waiting for this moment; you and kai both seriously do not know how to act around attractive boys, but now he’s out on a date and you’re going to be going on one too!” the younger both continues, sighing dreamily. “only after an eternity of waiting.”

“it has been a while, jun,” soobin finishes, voice soft but still beaming up at his friend. “i’m really happy for you.”

“thank you, i definitely owe you one. still, there’s a part of me that doesn’t feel like this is real,” the older boy admits.

yeonjun is still fiddling with the final note, smoothing out the creases across the cream colored page when he continues speaking. “but i’m really, really happy that it is,” the blonde boy concludes, a small smile making its way across his face.

—

the five of them try not to hang out at the coffee shop too much (beomgyu jokes that they need to broaden their horizons of usual hang out spots), but they inevitably end up there pretty often considering the fact that both beomgyu and taehyun still work there. instead of dropping in before his psychology class, yeonjun starts coming in afterwards so that he can walk taehyun back to the younger boy’s own dorm. on the other hand, the manager often signs beomgyu up for the shifts that either coincide with the end of taehyun’s shifts or follow them, so yeonjun often sees kai dropping off his own boyfriend at the shop as he and taehyun were just leaving. one time, they almost run smack dab into one another on the sidewalk. yeonjun takes special notice of how kai’s fingers are interlaced with beomgyu’s as if it’s the most natural thing in the world— it seemed like the youngest boy hadn’t ever stopped smiling since he and beomgyu became official.

there’s a small patch of grass next to the bookstore that the five of them soon begin to frequent, since it’s secluded enough from the rest of campus that it provides a fairly peaceful environment. beomgyu tends to bring drinks and pastries for the five of them to share if he’s just finished an afternoon shift. the five of them hurriedly shove their schoolwork off of the picnic blanket they’ve laid out at the prospect of snacks, piling the papers on top of their book bags in order to make room for the drink carrier beomgyu is balancing, who looks slightly wobbly as he walks over. kai quickly steps in to grab the older boy’s school bag off of his back, an action that beomgyu gives the youngest a peck on the lips for as he finally sets the drinks down onto solid ground.

“there are muffins in my bag,” beomgyu points out, and kai goes shuffling through the grey knapsack until he pulls out a brown paper bag, depositing it onto the large rectangle of pale blue fabric they’re all sitting on. “how were your classes?”

there’s a chorus of groans that erupt, mainly from soobin and taehyun.

“don’t even get me started,” taehyun mutters.

“please don’t. i’ve listened to the chemistry rant from these two at least ten times today, and we’ve only been here for like an hour and a half,” yeonjun gestures towards the tallest and shortest members of their friend group.

“i could probably recite it at this point,” kai remarks, earning a laugh from beomgyu, who scoots over so that he can settle his head right in his boyfriend’s lap. kai takes the older boy’s affectionate acts in stride, immediately moving to gently card his fingers through beomgyu’s silver hair. beomgyu begins to close his eyes, resting them after his shift. taehyun observes the couple from his spot on the other corner of the picnic blanket, glancing up from his— you guessed it— organic chemistry textbook.

“i think beomgyu has the right idea,” taehyun whispers, leaning into yeonjun’s side. the redhead is sitting with his legs crossed, book laying right on top of them, so he almost tips over while doing so, but yeonjun puts a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder to steady him. “i think i should sleep, preferably forever.”

yeonjun glances at the book sitting in front of his boyfriend. “you only have two pages left in this chapter. how about you finish those up and then you lie down?”

taehyun lets out a quiet hmph but easily complies, turning back to his work. if there was one thing that was a constant in their lives and relationship, it was the two of them encouraging one another with their studies, because they both know that they would be lost without the other. juggling being a student and maintaining a shred of sanity was notoriously tough work, but yeonjun and taehyun managed to keep one another fairly balanced (as much as they could be, that is.

and with yeonjun’s unspoken promise to let taehyun take a nap in which the youngest can drape himself all over his blonde boyfriend, taehyun pushes through the last two pages of required reading and note-taking before promptly flopping down onto the blanket. the redhead places his head on yeonjun’s thigh and immediately closes his eyes.

“wake me up when it’s time for dinner,” is all taehyun states before going silent. beomgyu, who has since sat up and is now leaning into kai’s side, snickers quietly as he observes his slightly younger friend go from a frantic working student to being completely still— almost statue-like as he rested— in a matter of minutes, but that was the life of a student for you. kai also watches with a considerable amount of amusement, simultaneously rubbing his boyfriend’s knuckles in a gesture of unspoken affection.

“you guys are gross,” soobin comments once he notices the behavior of the two couples out of the corner of his eye. the tall boy is still peering down at his laptop, furiously scribbling out a line of writing in bright purple pen ink on the sheet of loose leaf paper sitting before him. when looking at soobin, yeonjun makes sure to thank every deity out there that he came to his senses and did not sign up to be pre-med.

taehyun cracks an eye open to shoot the taller boy a glare. “want to take that back?”

soobin pauses, skin paling the tiniest bit at the grumpy look on the younger boy’s face. “i should, shouldn’t i?”

“yep,” taehyun affirms, the smile on his face tight-lipped and sickly sweet. “you learn fast.”

“yeonjun, your boyfriend is scary,” soobin glances towards his oldest friend. “please protect me.”

“no,” yeonjun grins right back, rubbing at taehyun’s shoulder. “i don’t think i will.”

“wow, we’ve been friends for ten years and you drop me, all for some cute barista. i see how you move, jun.”

“learn how to make his coffee right and then come talk to me,” taehyun jokes. “now, i’m taking a nap. no one make a single noise until i’m asleep.”

yeonjun smiles, pressing a kiss to the crown of taehyun’s forehead. “goodnight, beautiful.”

taehyun falls asleep with an identical smile plastered across his face. they’re there until the sun goes down, finishing up work and catching up with each others’ days. the redhead of the group sleeps for a full hour before waking up all bleary-eyed and groggy. even so, how utterly adorable taehyun still looked, even in this disheveled state of his, made yeonjun’s heart fill with undeniable warmth.

the older boy finds it quite fascinating how much a single person can contribute into the life of another. yeonjun didn’t really get it before, but he thinks he does now, because the light weight of taehyun leaning in his lap keeps the older boy grounded. it reminds him that he’s truly here, and despite however long his to do list may be or whatever problems he’s having with his parents, taehyun’s steady presence does not falter in yeonjun’s life. there’s a million different metaphors that could be used to describe such a feeling— a ray of sunshine amongst a dark, cloudy sky, the rainbows that appear after it rains— but none of them are quite the right fit to explain the pure bliss that yeonjun experiences.

yeonjun tells taehyun about it once. “it’s only fair,” the older boy had stated. “you make my coffee, so you’re my energizer. you give me energy.”

the blonde’s statement is surely cheesy, but it’s terribly accurate nonetheless. yeonjun figures that it’s perfect for them; underneath all the cliches and lighthearted affection, there’s something so unabashedly raw and real growing between the two of them with every coming day.

taehyun joins in on the fun when yeonjun finishes describing just that. “it’s like coffee,” the younger boy hypothesizes. “okay, so it’s like sweet and stuff on the surface— at least for most college students, i swear i pour nothing but creamer into these drinks— but the underlying caffeine will still be able to zap your veins and give you the boost you need to continue on throughout the day.”

yeonjun laughs openly, pulling his boyfriend closer so that their thighs are pressed together on his couch, where they’re busy watching old disney movies. taehyun looks up so that him and yeonjun lock eyes, and the older boy brings his hand up to rest on the redhead’s knee.

“i’m very glad you’re pre-med and not an english major,” yeonjun says, eyes filled with mirth as he fights and fails to suppress a giggle, an action that taehyun quickly follows suit with. nonetheless, yeonjun’s expression is so incredibly fond as he closes the gap between the two of them, connecting their lips in an adoring kiss that says everything that their words fail to entirely express. despite how pleasant yeonjun recalls the notes to be, this— their blossoming relationship— was definitely an upgrade in his book.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that does it. the fact that i successfully stuck to a schedule and uploaded these seven one-shots is absolutely baffling to me, because if you know me, you know that i am the absolute worst with time management. somehow, i got it together to produce these stories.
> 
> i really hope that you at least got some enjoyment out of these fics. i adore taejun and these weren't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but they were really fun for me to create as some much-needed writing practice! also, taejunists are always deprived (like, ALWAYS deprived) so i hope these stories at least manage to fill out the tag with some stuff for you all to read.
> 
> it's absolutely insane to me that this has 1k hits— i never thought that i'd ever have a story that so many people would click on. thank you so much for all of your support, your kudos and comments really make my day! really, i just want to say thank you for taking the time over these past two weeks to read these little one-shots that i've written. it means a lot.
> 
> it's strange to say that this is my final ending note on this specific fic, but i have an exam to take soon so i better be signing off. take care everyone! thank you again.
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/decalcomoniaa)


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